New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday (May 31, 2022) broke his silence on the arrest of his minister Satyendar Jain by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and said that the case is "completely fake" and "politically motivated". Kejriwal said that he has faith in the judiciary and asserted that the AAP is an honest political party.
"I have studied the case against Jain. It is completely fake and motivated by political reasons. We have faith in the judiciary. Jain is following the path of truth, and he will come out clean," the Delhi chief minister said.
हमारी कट्टर ईमानदार सरकार है। हम 1 पैसे का भी भ्रष्टाचार बर्दाश्त नहीं करते
पंजाब में हमने अपने ही मंत्री को गिरफ़्तार कराया लेकिन @SatyendarJain का Case बिल्कुल फ़र्ज़ी है
सच्चाई का रास्ता कठिन होता है लेकिन भगवान हमारे साथ है
-CM @ArvindKejriwal #Satyendar_Nahi_Modi_Chor_Hai pic.twitter.com/caVaDd8AkF
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 31, 2022
Satyendar Jain was arrested by the ED on Monday in a money laundering case. He was taken into custody under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after a few hours of questioning, the PTI news agency reported citing ED officials.
They alleged he was "evasive" in his replies. The arrest has been made by the federal agency in connection with alleged hawala dealings.
Jain, 57, is the minister for health, industries, power, home, urban development and water in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government.
The ED had said last month that assets worth Rs 4.81 crore of Jain's family and companies "beneficially owned and controlled" by him were provisionally attached as part of a money-laundering probe against him.
In a statement issued then, the ED had said it issued a provisional order under the PMLA to "attach immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging 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 (paper) 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," the ED said.
The persons named in the attachment order are associates and family members of Jain, the officials said.
The money laundering case against the Delhi minister stems from an August 2017 FIR filed by the CBI against him and others on charges of alleged possession of disproportionate assets (DA).
A charge sheet was filed by the CBI in December 2018 stating that the alleged DA was to the tune of Rs 1.47 crore, about 217 per cent more than his known sources of income, during 2015-17.
The Income Tax Department had also probed these transactions and issued an order attaching "benami assets" allegedly linked to Jain.
(With agency inputs)
