Satyendar Jain arrest: All about the money laundering case against the Delhi minister

Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, who holds various portfolios  including health, home, and power in Arvind Kejriwal’s government, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday on charges of alleged money laundering.

Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal blasted Jain’s arrest on Tuesday, calling the charges against his minister “completely fake and motivated by political reasons,” while BJP and Congress leaders celebrated the arrest, urging the CM to remove Jain from his Cabinet.

Jain has been arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and here’s everything you need to know about the case against the minister.

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All about the money laundering case against Satyendar Jain:

The ED’s arrest of the minister stems from a first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) half a decade back in 2017, wherein it accused Jain and his family of holding disproportionate assets.

The CBI complaint had alleged that Jain could not explain the source of funds obtained by four companies “beneficially owned and controlled by him,” namely, Prayas Info Solutions, Akinchan Developers, Managalyatan Projects and Indo-Metal Impex Pvt Limited.

The Bureau further alleged that Jain and his wife Poonam had received Rs 4.63 crore through the aforementioned companies in 2015-16, when they held one-third of shares in said companies.

Additionally, the CBI accused Jain of “laundering Rs 11.78 crore during 2010-12 through these companies as well as other firms also based in New Delhi.”

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The Bureau further alleged that Jain and his family had used the funds to purchase 200 bighas of land in the villages of Auchandi, Bawana, Karala and Mohammed Mazvi in Delhi, and lodged a case against the minister, his wife, and his relatives and business associates.

After questioning the Delhi minister several times, the ED in April this year, provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to the four aforementioned companies liked to Jain, along with with a fifth one JJ Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd. Additionally, the ED also attached properties belonging to Jain’s business associates and relatives, namely properties belonging to Swati Jain, Sushila Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain and Indu Jain.

“Investigation by the ED revealed that during the period 2015-16, when Sh. 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,” the ED had said in a statement in April 2022.

“These amounts were utilised for direct purchase of land or for the repayment of loan taken for purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi,” the agency had further said.