ED questions Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain's wife in money laundering case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain's wife Poonam Jain in connection with an alleged money laundering case.

Poonam Jain deposed before the investigators after 11 am at the ED's headquarters here, a development noticed almost two months after her husband, Satyendar Jain was arrested by the agency in the same case on May 30.
The federal agency on July 1, also arrested two associates of Satyendar Jain-- Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain-- following their questioning.

Those on the ED radar in the case are Ankush Jain, Vaibhav Jain, Naveen Jain and Siddharth Jain (Directors of Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), G S Matharoo (Chairman of Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust which runs Prudence Group of Schools), Yogesh Kumar Jain (Director in Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), father-in-law of Ankush Jain and Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust are also on ED radar for assisting Satyendar Jain, the ED informed.

In the case, the ED on June 6 had seized cash worth Rs 2.85 crore and 133 gold coins weighing 1.80 kg from Satyendra Jain's aides during its day-long raid conducted at various places across Delhi and the National Capital Region. The agency had also seized various incriminating documents and digital records during these raids.

The ED then said that the total movable assets were seized from an "unexplained source" and were "found to be secreted" in the raided premises.

The assets were seized during a search operation carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at the premises of Satyendar Jain, his wife Poonam, and his accomplices and other persons who had either directly or indirectly assisted him or participated in the processes of money laundering.

ED investigation in the case has revealed that one accomplice member of Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust had provided accommodation entries for the transfer of land from a company beneficially owned by Satyendar Jain to family members of accomplices in order to alienate the property and to frustrate the process of confiscation.

The ED initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of the First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 24 August 2017 under Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Satyendar Jain, Poonam Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.

The CBI filed the chargesheet on 3 December 2018 against Satyendar Kumar Jain, Poonam Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.

The charge sheet mentioned that Satyendar Jain while holding the office as a Minister in the Government of Delhi, during the period 14 February 2015 to 31 May 2017 had acquired assets which are disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The CBI has accused Satyendar Jain and others of the commission of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Satyendar Jain was arrested after the ED in April attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore owned by companies named Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in connection with the disproportionate asset and money laundering case registered against Jain, his wife Poonam, and others. (ANI)