Smriti Irani attacks Delhi CM over ED's recovery from Satyendar Jain's residence, his aides

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking his reply on his colleague Satyendar Jain, who is in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

"I asked ten questions to Kejriwal ji around 12.30 pm on June 1. The eleventh question was whether Kejriwal ji still think that Satyendar Jain did not do theft. Does Kejriwal believe that Satyendar Jain keeps no black money? Does he believe that Jain is innocent? I have not received the reply to any of my questions yet till June 8," Irani asked while speaking to ANI.

Mentioning that the ED has recovered around Rs 2.80 crore in cash, and 133 gold coins weighing over 1 kg from the residence of Jain and his aides, Irani asked whether Kejriwal still finds Satyendar Jain "innocent" despite these recoveries.

The Union Minister reminded "Kejriwal had said that he checked the papers himself", and asked whether he did not check such huge cash processed by Satyendar Jain.

"Did not he check gold in such huge quantity as well as illegal property?" asked the minister.

The minister further asked whether the Delhi Chief Minister checked the order of the Delhi High Court on how Satyendar Jain collected Rs 16 crore black money with the help of shell companies and Hawala operators.

Irani's attack came as the ED on Tuesday claimed to have seized 2.85 crore cash and 133 gold coins weighing 1.80 kg from Jain's aides during its day-long raid conducted a day ago.

During the search conducted on Monday, the ED has said it seized various incriminating documents and digital records.

The ED 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 Jain, and his accomplices and other persons who had either directly or indirectly assisted him or participated in the processes of money laundering.

Those who assisted the Delhi Minister in the money laundering are named 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, said the ED.

The federal agency's separate teams had carried out the searches at six places in Delhi, including the residence of Jain, and one in Gurugram since morning.

The places raided by the ED across Delhi included Ram Prakash jewellers Pvt Ltd in southeast Delhi. The agency conducted raids after it arrested Jain on May 30 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. On May 31, a trial court sent Jain to ED's custody till June 9.

The move comes days after the federal agency arrested Jain on May 30. Jain is in the custody of ED till June 9.

Investigation 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 had initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of the First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 24, 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 a chargesheet on December 3, 2018, against Satyendar Kumar Jain, Poonam Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.

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

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

Jain was arrested after the ED in April this year 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 Jain, and others.

(ANI)