New Delhi, June 6 (Agency)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids against Delhi minister Satyendar Jain at his residential premises and other places as part of a money laundering probe related to the alleged hawala deal. Officials gave this information. Officials said raids at Jain’s residential complexes and other places in Delhi were being conducted as part of “further action in the matter”. Jain, 57, was arrested on May 30 under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He was then sent to ED custody till June 9. The agency is understood to have come across some new evidence and sources after questioning Jain and some alleged hawala operators in the past few days. Officials said that raids were conducted to gather more information about these information. Jain is currently a minister in the Delhi government without any portfolio. More than half a dozen portfolios of Jain were transferred to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on June 2. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal defended Jain, describing him as an “extremely honest and patriotic” person and said he was “being falsely implicated”. Kejriwal said he is hopeful that the minister will come out innocent after the ED probe.
In April, the ED had attached assets worth Rs 4.81 crore of Jain’s family and companies “owned and controlled” by them as part of the probe. The ED then said in a statement that it had booked under PMLA “Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Prayas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd, Mangalayatan Projects Pvt Ltd, JJ Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd, Swati Jain, wife of Vaibhav Jain, Ajit A provisional order was issued for attachment of immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to Prasad Jain’s wife Sushila Jain and Sunil Jain’s wife Indu Jain.
The money laundering case against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR against him and others for possessing disproportionate assets in August 2017.
