The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday informed that it had attached immovable properties worth Rs 7.44 crore belonging to companies beneficially owned and controlled by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain. “The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI on August 24, 2017, against Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and others, wherein it was alleged that he, while posted and functioning as a Minister in the Delhi government, had acquired disproportionate assets during the period from February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017,” an ED spokesperson said in a statement. The CBI filed a chargesheet on December 3, 2018, against Jain, his wife, and others. “As a result of the investigation, the ED had earlier provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies beneficially owned and controlled by Jain on March 31, 2022, and filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) on July 27, 2022. The concerned court took cognizance of the PC on July 29, 2022,” the spokesperson said. According to the ED, the total proceeds of crime attached so far in this matter stand at Rs 12.25 crore (Rs 4.81 crore + Rs 7.44 crore), representing 100% of the disproportionate assets acquired by Jain in the form of immovable properties held in companies beneficially owned and controlled by him. “A supplementary Prosecution Complaint will be filed in the matter soon under PMLA. Trial in this case is under progress at the Rouse Avenue Court,” the spokesperson added. The investigation has revealed that in November 2016, soon after demonetisation, Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain, close associates and benamis of Satyendar Jain, deposited Rs 7.44 crore in cash in Bank of Baroda, Bhogal Branch, as advance tax under the Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS), 2016. “Under IDS, they claimed beneficial ownership of income/assets of Rs 16.53 crore received between 2011–2016 in the accounts of M/s Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd, M/s Paryas Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd, M/s Manglayatan Projects Pvt. Ltd, and M/s Indo Metal Impex Pvt. Ltd., whereas these entities were beneficially owned and controlled by Satyendar Jain,” the spokesperson added. “The Income Tax Department and the Delhi High Court held Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain to be benami holders for Jain. The Supreme Court dismissed their SLPs and review petitions, rendering the finding final. This information was shared by ED with the CBI under Section 66(2) of PMLA, 2002. On the basis of the information shared, the CBI further investigated the matter and subsequently filed a supplementary chargesheet, enhancing the disproportionate assets attributed to Jain during his tenure as Minister in the Delhi government,” the spokesperson said.
