A Delhi court on Tuesday sent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Satyendar Jain to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till June 9 in a money laundering case against him.
ED had on Monday arrested the Delhi minister on allegations of routing money via land purchases through shell companies.
ED Claims money was routed through four shell companies
The CBI had registered a case against Aam Aadmi Party leader under Section 13 (2) read with section 13 (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. In layman's terms, Jain was booked on charges of corruption for laundering money through alleged shell companies—Akinchan Developers; Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd; Paryas Infosolutions; Manglayatan Projects; and J.J. Ideal Estate.
In this connection, properties worth 4.81 crore were attached by ED last month. In a detailed statement, the ED said, “Investigation by the ED revealed that during the period 2015-16, when Satyendar Kumar Jain was a public servant, the above-mentioned companies beneficially owned and controlled by him received accommodation entries to the tune of Rs 4.81 crore from shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through the hawala route. These amounts were utilised for the direct purchase of land or for the repayment of loans taken for the purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi
Satyendar Jain claims no involvement in land purchases
Senior Counsel N Hariharan, appearing on behalf of the minister, said ED has not been able to point out any source of income and the connection between the funds and the alleged land purchases. He went on to argue that his client holds shares in the company as a consultant and the land belongs to the companies as per a report published in Bar and Bench.
On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta while seeking a longer fourteen-day custody counter-argued that it will take time to uncover and trace the source of funds involved in the alleged hawala transaction.
AAP leader Manish Sisodia hints foul play
While the legal team defending the Delhi Health minister will be opposing the claim on the grounds of alleged lack of procedure being followed in the case, principles of company law and the alleged misuse of power, Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister had taken to microblogging website Twitter to express his displeasure over the arrest. In his tweet, he went on to allege that the arrest of the AAP minister is politically motivated.
According to Sisodia, Jain has been called for the purpose of investigation on a number of times but the agency could uncover any material information against Jain. He further goes on to allege that the minister has been arrested to obstruct him from doing his election duties as the party in charge of the Himachal Pradesh elections.
Amid the political brick batting going on in the case, the ED's investigation to substantiate its claims against the senior Aam Aadmi Party minister will decide how court proceedings play out in the case.
