ED arrests 2 more in money laundering case against Delhi minister Satyendar Jain
Vaibhav and Ankush were arrested under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). ED said both are directors of Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd, which was raided on June 6.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain, directors of a jewellery firm in Delhi, on charges of assisting Delhi’s jailed minister Satyendar Jain in money laundering, people familiar with the development said.
Vaibhav and Ankush were arrested under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). ED said both are directors of Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd, which was raided on June 6. After the searches at premises linked to six people including the jewellery firm’s five directors, ED said it recovered ₹2.85 crore and 133 gold coins, alleging that the gold was from “unexplained sources” and was “secreted” in the properties.
Jain was arrested by ED on May 30 in a money laundering case based on a 2017 FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him. On Monday, a Delhi court decided to remand Jain, who was hospitalised last week after his oxygen level dipped, in judicial custody for two more weeks.
Jain and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal have repeatedly rejected ED’s contention and described the case against the minister as “political vendetta”. Kejriwal has also refused to drop Jain from his council of ministers — his portfolios, including departments of health, home and water, are being handled by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia — to underline that Jain was being harassed.
After the last round of raids on June 6, Kejriwal tweeted a counter-attack at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “Lies upon lies upon lies. You have the strength of all the agencies. But God is with us,” Kejriwal wrote.
ED said it has attached land in Delhi worth ₹4.81 crore belonging to companies linked to the case — Akinchan Developers, Indo Metal Impex, Paryas Infosolutions, Mangalayatan Projects, and JJ Ideal Estate — and Jain’s relatives Swati Jain, Sushila Jain, and Indu Jain. The minister is accused of using launderer money to purchase land in Delhi. His counsel, senior advocate N Hari Haran, however, said there is nothing new in ED’s case, and it was “a replica of the CBI case”.