The ED has arrested Delhi Health Minister and Aam Aadmi Party’s in-charge for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, Satyendar Jain, in a five-year-old money laundering case. The agency had questioned Jain in this case in 2018, but for the next three years there was no significant progress.
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain in a five-year-old money laundering case. The officers provided this information.
The agency had said last month that assets worth Rs 4.81 crore of Jain’s family and companies related to Jain have been provisionally attached as part of a money laundering probe against them.
In the year 2018, the ED had questioned Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Jain in this case.
According to the report, the case is based on the CBI’s First Information Report filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the AAP leader in 2017, accusing Jain and others of possessing disproportionate assets.
His arrest comes at a time when Jain is busy with the party’s organizational and political affairs as AAP’s in-charge of Himachal Pradesh.
Although Jain was questioned by the ED in this case in 2018, there was no significant progress in this for the next three years.
Earlier this year, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that he had been informed by sources that the ED may arrest Jain just before the assembly elections in Punjab.
In a digital press conference in the national capital, Kejriwal had said, “From our sources, we have come to know that in the coming few days, just before the Punjab elections, the ED is going to arrest Satyendar Jain.” They are most welcome. Earlier also the central government had raided Satyendra Jain, but nothing was found.
Jain also dismissed the matter saying, ‘Whenever they want, they are welcome’. Even before this they have raided me twice but all in vain. This is all politics and he did it during the last Punjab elections as well. ED, CBI everyone is welcome. I am ready, if they want to arrest me, they can arrest me.
In April, the agency said assets worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to Jain’s family and companies beneficially owned and controlled by them have been provisionally attached as part of a money laundering probe against them.
In a statement, the ED had then said that it has issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attachment of the property.
It further states that the ‘attached immovable assets worth Rs 4.81 crore are owned by Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd. Ltd., Mangalayatan Projects Pvt. Ltd., JJ Ideal Estate Pvt. Ltd.’s. Apart from this, properties of Swati Jain, Sushila Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain and Indu Jain have been attached in case of disproportionate assets.
According to the ED, their investigation in the money laundering case revealed that during the period 2015-16 when Satyendra Kumar Jain was a public servant, the above companies owned and controlled by him were transferred through hawala to entry operators in Kolkata. In lieu of cash, accommodation entries worth Rs 4.81 crore were received from shell companies i.e. a small part of a huge amount.
The central agency had said that these amounts were used for direct purchase of land or repayment of loans taken for purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi.
Jain, 57, an MLA from Shakur Basti, is the Minister of Health, Industry, Power, Home, Urban Development and Water in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government.
Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections are due later this year and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is trying to make inroads in the state after its landslide victory in Punjab earlier this year.
AAP says that the arrest is related to the upcoming Himachal Pradesh elections. The Aam Aadmi Party has reacted strongly to Jain’s arrest. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted that this is a ‘fake case’.
BJP is losing badly in Himachal. That is why Satyendra Jain has been arrested today so that he cannot go to Himachal.
They will be released in a few days as the case is completely fake. 2/2— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 30, 2022
He linked it to the upcoming elections in Himachal Pradesh and wrote, ‘A fake case is being run against Satyendra Jain for 8 years. Till now ED has been called many times. In between, the ED stopped calling for several years as they did not get anything. Now they have started again as Satyendar Jain is the election in-charge of Himachal.
He said, ‘BJP is losing badly in Himachal. That is why Satyendra Jain has been arrested today so that he cannot go to Himachal. They will be released in a few days as the case is completely fake.
(with input from news agency language)
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