ED Attaches Rs 7.44 Crore Assets of Companies Linked to Satyendra Jain in Money Laundering Case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken major action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by attaching assets belonging to companies linked to Aam Aadmi Party leader and former minister Satyendra Jain. The total value of the attached assets is estimated to be approximately Rs 7.44 crore. The ED initiated a money laundering investigation based on an FIR registered against Satyendra Kumar Jain, Poonam Jain (Satyendra Kumar Jain's wife), and others. It alleged that Satyendra Kumar Jain, while serving as a minister in the Delhi government, had amassed disproportionate assets during the period from 14.02.2015 to 31.05.2017. The CBI filed a charge sheet against Satyendra Kumar Jain, Poonam Jain, and others on 03.12.2018. Consequently, on March 31, 2022, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies owned and controlled by Satyendra Kumar Jain. A prosecution complaint (PC) was subsequently filed on July 27, 2022. The Court took cognizance of the PC on July 29, 2022. During the ED investigation, it was also revealed that in November 2016, immediately after demonetization, Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain, close associates of Satyendra Kumar Jain and benami, deposited Rs 7.44 crore in cash with Bank of Baroda, Bhogal branch, as advance tax under the Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS), 2016. An amount of Rs 16.53 crore was discovered between 2011 and 2016 in the accounts of M/s Akinchon Developers Private Limited, M/s Prayas Infosolutions Private Limited, M/s Mangalayatan Projects Private Limited, and M/s Indo Metal Impex Private Limited, despite these entities being owned and controlled by Satyendra Kumar Jain. The Income Tax Department and the Delhi High Court held Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain to be benami holders of Satyendra Kumar Jain. The Supreme Court dismissed their special leave petitions and review petitions and declared this finding final. This information was shared by the ED with the CBI under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, 2002. Based on the information shared, the CBI further investigated the case. A supplementary charge sheet was subsequently filed, detailing the disproportionate assets acquired by Satyendra Kumar Jain during his tenure as a minister in the Delhi government. Following the CBI's supplementary chargesheet, the ED has now identified and attached immovable properties worth Rs 7.44 crore. Thus, the total proceeds of crime attached by the ED in this case so far is Rs 12.25 crore (Rs 4.81 crore Rs 7.44 crore), which is 100 percent of the disproportionate assets acquired by Satyendra Kumar Jain in the form of immovable properties in companies owned and controlled by him. A supplementary prosecution complaint will soon be filed in this case under the PMLA, 2002. The trial in this case is ongoing at the Rouse Avenue Court.