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Panchkula: Key accused gets bail in ₹3,000 crore ponzi scheme case
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, presided over by Rajiv Goyal, granted bail to the accused chartered accountant, Rajesh Jain, against bail bonds of ₹1 lakh with one surety in the like amount
A special PMLA court on Monday granted bail to one of the key accused in the ₹3,000 crore ponzi scheme case.
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, presided over by Rajiv Goyal, granted bail to the accused chartered accountant, Rajesh Jain, against bail bonds of ₹1 lakh with one surety in the like amount.
“The investigating agency having consciously preferred not to arrest Jain during investigation or post filing the prosecution complaint, so I am of the opinion that no useful purpose will be served by keeping him in custody,” read the order of the PMLA court.
Jain, one of the directors of Hisar’s Future Makers Life Care, had surrendered before the PMLA court on March 30. The company was charged with defrauding thousands of investors.
The court, in its order granting bail, had observed that: “Even on March 30 or subsequently, when Jain had surrendered in the court, ED did not apply for his custody for the purpose of interrogation or otherwise.”
This was his third application for regular bail. The Punjab and Haryana high court had twice denied him this concession, the last being in January when it told him to surrender and join the investigation. In 2023, the ED had filed a charge sheet against him, and in November, he had moved the special PMLA court for pre-arrest bail and claimed that the agency had never arrested him even though he had joined the investigation. However, the ED challenged the bail on the grounds that he was non-cooperative.
The ponzi scheme case has 23 accused, including Jain. In 2022, the Chandigarh cops had arrested him for defrauding some residents in bitcoin trade, but he managed to secure bail and evade arrest, even though the ED had also booked him.
The ED, in 2021, had initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of seven FIRs, dating back to 2018, registered in Haryana and Telangana. It may be mentioned that ED had attached properties belonging to the company and its directors, Radhe Shyam and Bansi Lal, and others, worth ₹261.9 crore. ED alleged that the accused were running a ponzi scheme and duped innocent people to the tune of several hundred crores of rupees.
