ED attaches Rs 4.8 cr assets belonging to Satyendar Jain

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Tuesday it has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies allegedly "beneficially owned and controlled" by Delhi minister Satyendar Jain and his relatives. The attachments have been made in connection with a case of money laundering the agency is probing against the minister.

Jain is the minister for Health, Power, Home, PWD, Industries, Urban Development, Flood, Irrigation and Water in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government.

The ED had questioned the AAP MLA from Shakur Basti in 2018 in connection with the case.

In a statement, the Enforcement Directorate said it has issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for the attachment of the assets.

The "attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belong to Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd., Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd., Manglayatan Projects Pvt. Ltd., J.J. Ideal Estate Pvt. Ltd., Swati Jain, wife of Vaibhav Jain, Sushila Jain, wife of Ajit Prasad Jain, and Indu Jain, wife of Sunil Jain."

The probe found that "during the period 2015-16, when Satyendar Kumar Jain was a public servant, the 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 direct purchase of land or for repayment of loan taken for the purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi," ED mentioned.

In a statement addressing BJP's fear of its expansion across the country, the Aam Aadmi Party said: "Given the way the Kejriwal model is being accepted and embraced everywhere, we expected that the BJP will use agencies against the opposition as usual. They registered more than a hundred cases against our MLAs and ministers and each one has been dismissed in court. Satyendar Jain is a staunchly honest man and this case will also be completely dismissed."

The ED case of money laundering against the AAP minister stems from an August 2017 FIR by the CBI against him and others on charges of alleged possession of disproportionate assets.

Kejriwal in February had said that he has learnt from sources the ED was going to arrest Satyendar Jain just before the Punjab assembly elections and accused the Centre of targeting the Aam Aadmi Party after realising the BJP "would lose" the polls. The AAP won the Punjab assembly polls in March and has formed its government in the border state with Bhagwant Mann as the Chief Minister.