ED attaches ₹7.44 cr properties linked to Satyendar Jain firms

The ED has attached properties worth ₹7.44 crore linked to jailed former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, raising AAP's legal challenges.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹7.44 crore allegedly linked to companies controlled by jailed former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, escalating his legal troubles and delivering a fresh blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), officials aware of the matter said.

Satyendar Jain has been in jail since his arrest in May 2022.  (PTI)

The attachment, made on September 15 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), follows earlier action against Jain in March 2022, when properties worth ₹4.81 crore were seized. With the latest move, the total value of attached assets stands at ₹12.25 crore.

ED officials said the figure represents “100% of the disproportionate assets” allegedly acquired by Jain through companies he beneficially owned. The case is currently being heard at the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi, where the ED plans to file a supplementary prosecution complaint.

The probe stems from a 2017 CBI case alleging that Jain amassed disproportionate assets between February 2015 and May 2017, during his tenure as a minister in the Delhi government. The CBI filed its first chargesheet in December 2018, naming Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and others.

According to investigators, Jain’s close associates Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain acted as his benamis. “Soon after demonetisation in November 2016, they allegedly deposited ₹7.44 crore in cash under the Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS), showing it as income of companies—Akinchan Developers, Paryas Infosolutions, Manglayatan Projects and Indo Metal Impex. Courts have since upheld that these entities were fronts for Jain, with the Supreme Court dismissing appeals by his associates,” said an investigator aware of the matter.

The ED had earlier claimed that these companies were used to launder proceeds of crime. Jain, who once held key portfolios in the Delhi government, has been in jail since his arrest in May 2022.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Tuesday hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the Enforcement Directorate’s seizure of assets worth ₹7.44 crore linked to former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain.

“AAP leaders used to claim raids never yielded a penny. They must now answer for the recovery of ₹7.44 crore from Jain,” Sachdeva said, alleging the party “are experts in committing fraud during emergencies,” citing Jain’s alleged demonetisation-era manipulation and CM Arvind Kejriwal’s bungalow construction during COVID.