Satyendar Jain appeals a court decision denying him bail to the Delhi High Court.

  • Nov. 30, 2022, 12:51 p.m.

AAP leader Satyendar Jain has moved the Delhi High Court against a trial court order denying him bail in connection with an alleged money laundering case probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The CBI had filed a case in August 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and a year later, it filed a chargesheet against Jain, his wife, and four of his associates in a disproportionate assets case. Following this case, the ED had provisionally attached 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, and JJ Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd.

The ED has alleged Jain "beneficially owned and controlled" the above-mentioned companies during 2015-16 when he was a public servant and "received accommodation entries worth Rs 4.81 crore from shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through the hawala route."

The plea states that the allegations against Jain were made based on the assumption that he "controlled and beneficially owned the said companies."

Jain claims that "ED’s own record shows that he exited the company as its director in July 2013, almost two years before the check period." Moreover, the plea states that Jain’s shares in the said companies were transferred to his wife. The plea claims that the notional amount attributable to Jain’s shareholding in the three companies "can only be of Rs 59 lakh," and the trial court failed to appreciate it. Jain claims that he is entitled to bail under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which provide for bail in "cases of less than one crore."

He further alleges that the trial court gave a finding in his favour that he never had a third shareholding in said companies, claiming that broad probabilities are in his favour for the grant of bail, which went unappreciated by the trial court.

On November 17, while denying him bail, Special Judge Vikas Dhull at Rouse Avenue court observed that it "has prima facie come on record that Jain was actually involved in concealing proceeds of crime by giving cash to Kolkata-based entry operators and bringing the cash into three companies."

"By this process, the proceeds of crime to the tune of 1/3rd of Rs 4.61 crore has been laundered. Apart from that, Satyendar Kumar Jain has also used the same modus operandi to convert his proceeds of crime of Rs 15,00,000 by receiving accommodation entries from Kolkata-based entry operators... The applicant/accused had knowingly done such activity to obliterate the tracing of the source of ill-gotten money and, accordingly, the proceeds of crime were layered through Kolkata-based entry operators in a way that its source was difficult to decipher," the court said.

The court said Jain "has prima facie" engaged in the offence of money laundering of more than Rs 1 crore. The court had also denied bail to two other accused, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

Related News