A court in Delhi on May 31 ordered Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain to be held in the Enforcement Directorate’s custody till June 9 in a money laundering case, stating that his interrogation was necessary to uncover the suspected bigger plot.
The case originates from a first information report filed by the CBI in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, accusing the AAP leader of laundering money through four firms purportedly related to him.
The CBI had originally filed a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Sections 13(2) (criminal behaviour by a public officer) and 13(e) (disproportionate assets). The complaint was filed when it was discovered that Jain had purchased movable properties in the names of numerous people between 2015 and 2017 and was unable to account for them.
The ED provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs. 4.81 crore belonging to M/s Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, M/s Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, M/s Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd, M/s Manglayatan Projects Pvt Ltd, M/s JJ Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd, and other persons on April 5 this year, based on its investigation into the money laundering aspect.
“During the period 2015-16, when Sh. Satyendar Kumar Jain was a public servant, the above-mentioned companies beneficially owned and controlled by him received accommodation entries to the tune of Rs 4.81 crore from shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through the Hawala route,” according to the ED investigation.
“These funds were used for the direct purchase of land or the repayment of a loan taken for the acquisition of agricultural land in and around Delhi,” according to a statement released by the ED at the time.
Jain could not explain the source of money received by four firms in which he was a shareholder, according to the CBI charge.
It had filed a corruption complaint against him, his wife, and four others. He was previously questioned by the CBI in the matter.
Jain held authority over these companies, according to the CBI, either as a director or by owning one-third of the shares in his name, or in the names of his family members or others. The agency further stated that these were shell corporations that were used to park money in the form of equities stock investments in collusion with Kolkata-based shell companies.
After Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, requested Mr. Jain’s detention for 14 days, Special Judge Geetanjli Goel imposed the remand order.
According to him, there was a tangled web of money, and the FBI was trying to figure out if the accused was laundering money for others and if there were any other potential benefactors.
“The money hasn’t come to a halt at Rs.4.81 crore.” It is unfathomable. We don’t have some information, but the accused is aware,” the SG said, adding that tampering with evidence could not be ruled out until the agency determined the true trail.
Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Chief Minister, broke his silence on the ED’s arrest of his Minister Satyendar Jain on May 31, claiming the charge is “completely fake and politically driven,” and that “we have faith in the judiciary.”
During an assessment of his government’s road building programme, Kejriwal stated, “Jain will come out clean and the false case will not hold up.” Mr. Kejriwal stated that Mr. Jain was on the right track. “God is with us,” he remarked, adding that he hoped the Minister would walk free and that the judiciary would treat him fairly.
Satyendra Jain, appeared before a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court in the capital today.