NEW DELHI, May 31: The Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, arrested on Monday in an alleged money laundering case, was on Tuesday sent to Enforcement Directorate custody till June 9. The probe agency, which investigates financial crimes, has alleged that the minister in the Arvind Kejriwal government was involved in hawala transactions with a Kolkata-based firm in 2015-16.
Jain, who holds various portfolios, including health, home and power, was produced in the Rouse Avenue Court. Jain is represented by senior advocate N Hari Haran, while the solicitor general Tushar Mehta appearing for the central agency.
A hawala system involves two parties transacting money with local agents on their behalf without the funds actually passing through formal banking channels. The Delhi Minister’s request for Jain food during the period of custody has been allowed. However, his another request to visit the Jain temple daily has been rejected.
Tushar Mehta, appearing for the probe agency, claimed that Jain acquired disproportionate assets to the tune of ₹ 1.67 crore during 2015-17. The said money was used to purchase land, he said. “During the probe, it has been revealed the shell companies were controlled by two residents of Kolkata. They have admitted that they were making entries with the commission of 15-20 paisa per ₹ 100.
“The money thus transferred through hawala operators to the four shell companies was used to buy a land in Delhi,” Mehta argued. The probe agency further said that it did not arrest the Minister at first and called him for questioning. It said that it “tried to investigate without arresting him but he remained evasive”.
“Not just mere shareholding but he has the controlling stake. These companies are effectively controlled by him,” argued the agency. The counsel for Jain argued that the agency was “just making bold statements” and asked where is the evidence linking the money trail to the minister. “The company was registered in 2018 and now we are in 2022. He was summoned almost six times and he has cooperated every time,” Hari Haran argued.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said the case against his Minister was “completely fake and politically motivated”. Kejriwal added that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was “staunchly honest” and that he himself would have taken action against Jain if there were even one per cent substance in the case.
The Chief Minister then referenced the sacking of Punjab Minister on corruption charges, spotlighting the party’s no-room-for-corruption resolve. “You saw in Punjab there was an audio recording of a state minister that no probe agency or opposition party had any idea about. We could have suppressed it if we wanted but we initiated action against him on our own and got him arrested,” Kejriwal said.
“We have faith in judiciary. This farzi (fake) case won’t last. We are following the path of truth,” Kejriwal said. In January, ahead of the Punjab Assembly election, Kejriwal had said he had learnt from sources that Jain could be arrested by the ED.
The central agency’s probe is based on a 2017 case of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in which it was alleged that the AAP leader and his wife Poonam Jain had amassed disproportionate assets worth ₹1.47 crore between February 2015 and May 2017, which was more than double their known sources of income.
(Manas Dasgupta)
