ED raids residence of Delhi minister, AAP calls it torture
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday raided the residence of Delhi’s health minister Satyendar Jain and locations linked to his associates in connection with a money laundering probe into the alleged hawala dealings of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader.
Six or seven places, including Jain’s residence and a jewellery shop in south east Delhi were searched as part of further investigation after Jain’s arrest last week, people familiar with the development said.
The AAP on Monday said the Centre was acting out of revenge because Jain is not even an accused in the money laundering case and termed the investigation “dubious”.
“ED raided Satyendar Jain’s residence so that it could divert attention from the insult and disgrace India has had to face because of PM Modi (after controversial statement against Prophet Mohammed by now-removed BJP functionaries). Jain has made immense contributions to Delhi’s health care model,” AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said in a press conference. “This is an act of torture, not an act of raid.”
Singh also contended that the action against Jain was akin to disrespecting the whole Jain community.
“CBI, ED and Income Tax department have raided Satyendar Jain’s home four times in past but have not found anything against him. This time, too, ED has nothing against him even after five days of investigation. When the [Delhi] high court asked, ED said that there is no FIR, no complaint against Satyendar Jain. If there is no FIR, no complaint against him then why is he still in custody?” Singh said.
Jain was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on May 30 and is being interrogated in ED custody, granted by a Delhi court till June 9.
The searches were carried to get clues on some alleged hawala operators, who may have assisted Jain and his associates to launder money, an official said, seeking anonymity.
Defending his minister, Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal last week said that Jain is honest and a patriot, who was being framed in a false case. He also said that deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is next on the list of targets of the central agencies, and is likely to be arrested. “I have come to know from the same sources that in the next few days the central government is going to arrest Manish Sisodia,” Kejriwal said last week. “The Centre has asked all central agencies to prepare a fake case against Sisodia and arrest him.”
In April this year, the central probe agency attached land in Delhi worth ₹4.81 crore belonging to companies linked to the case — Akinchan Developers, Indo Metal Impex, Paryas Infosolutions, Mangalyatan Projects, and J J Ideal Estate — and Jain’s relatives Swati Jain, Sushila Jain and Indu Jain.
“Investigation by ED revealed that during the period 2015-16, when Jain was a public servant, the companies beneficially owned and controlled by him received accommodation entries to the tune of ₹4.81 crore from shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkatabased entry operators through the hawala route,” said the agency which investigates financial crimes.
The probe found that Kolkata-based shell companies were controlled by Rajender Bansal and Jiivendra Mishra, who admitted during questioning that their main business was to provide accommodation entries through shell companies to various beneficiaries, whether in the form of share capital or unsecured loans at a commission of 15 to 20 paisa per ₹100, ED said.
Bansal told the central agency that Jain’s chartered accountant held a meeting with him to provide accommodation entries in the companies of Jain, according to an ED document seen by HT. Accommodation entries are usually done by hawala operators to accommodate illegal money in a company through a shell firm or in the form of cash by breaking large amounts into smaller sums to avoid suspicion.
According to ED, Jain transferred money to Kolkata through the hawala channel and got it back from dummy companies i n the form of accommodation entries.
The money laundering case against Jain is based on a 2017 first information report filed against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
ED has accused the Delhi minister of having laundered money through four companies allegedly linked to him, and in which he had shares. After allegedly laundering unaccounted-for cash, Jain purchased the land in names of companies controlled by him in Delhi, the agency alleged.
However, in the Delhi high court last week, ED said that Jain was not an “accused” in the case, and was in custody for interrogation. Jain has denied all charges and called the action “political vendetta”.