Enforcement on Friday summoned Poonam, wife of Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, to its headquarters in connection with the money laundering probe against the minister. Sources said Poonam has been asked to appear before the agency next week as her presence is necessary while extracting data from digital devices seized by the agency during raids on the premises of Jain and his relatives.
57-year-old Satyendar Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 30 under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is currently in judicial custody.
Last month, the ED had arrested two businessmen in connection with the case. Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain were arrested after they were called for questioning by the agency. ED sources said they were business associates of the Delhi minister.
ED case is based on disproportionate assets of 2017 FIR Jain was booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the CBI, where he was accused of laundering money through four allegedly linked companies.
In April, the ED had provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to these companies, besides those of another company – Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd, Mangalayatan Projects Pvt Ltd and JJ Ideal Estate Pvt. Ltd.
After questioning once in 2018, the agency had also called Jain for questioning.
In the case of alleged disproportionate assets, the properties of Swati Jain, Sushila Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain and Indu Jain were attached besides properties belonging to the said companies.
At the time of attachment of the properties, the ED said: “Investigation has revealed that during the period 2015-16, when Mr. Satyendra Kumar Jain being a public servant, the above companies owned and controlled by him received housing entries worth Rs 4.81 crore from shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata based entry operators through the hawala route. These amounts were used for direct purchase of land or repayment of loans taken for purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi.”
The CBI had concluded that Jain could not explain the source of funds received by the four companies in which he was a shareholder. It said that Rs 4.63 crore was allegedly received in 2015-16 through Prayas Info Solutions, Akinchan Developers, Mangalayatan Projects and Indo-Metal Impex Pvt Ltd. Jain and his wife reportedly held one-third of the shares in these companies during this period. He also allegedly held shares in the name of family members or others.
The probe agency had claimed that these are shell companies which are used in connivance with Kolkata-based shell companies to deposit money by way of investment in equity shares.
CBI sources said the money was allegedly used to buy 200 bighas of land in Auchandi, Bawana, Karala and Mohammad Majvi villages of Delhi between 2010 and 2016. The CBI filed a chargesheet in the case in December 2018, where it calculated the disproportionate assets at 217% of Jain’s known sources of income.
The CBI had registered a case against him, his wife and four others on corruption charges. He was also questioned in this matter.
“Furthermore, before becoming a public servant, he was allegedly involved in laundering of Rs 11.78 crore during 2010-12 through these companies as well as other firms based in New Delhi,” the CBI had said.