Why Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case

Following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain will be produced before a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court in the capital today..Though it is not clear before which judge Jain will be produced, the ED will presumably seek his custody.Jain, who had been facing a probe in a corruption case registered by the CBI, was arrested by ED sleuths in a related money laundering case..Jain is a senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) politician and currently holds the health, home, power, public works department, industries, urban development and flood, irrigation and water portfolios in the Delhi government as a minister..Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday tweeted that Jain's arrest had political undertones, as he was the in-charge of the party for the upcoming elections in Himachal Pradesh..The CBI had initially registered a case under Sections 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servant) read with 13(e) (disproportionate assets) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The case was registered on the allegation that Jain had acquired movable properties in the name of various persons between 2015 and 2017 which he could not satisfactorily account for..On April 5 this year, the ED, on the basis of its investigation into the money laundering aspect, provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹4.81 crore belonging to M/s Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, M/s Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, M/s Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd, M/s Manglayatan Projects Pvt Ltd, M/s JJ Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd, and other persons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002..The enforcement agency alleged that between 2015 and 2016, when Jain was a public servant, these companies “beneficially owned and controlled by him” received accommodation entries amounting to ₹4.81 crore from shell companies against the cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through a hawala route..These amounts were reportedly utilised for either direct purchases of land or for the repayment of loans taken for the purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi. Accordingly, immovable properties worth ₹4.81 crore in the form of land belonging to the companies and individuals were provisionally attached..While the ED is likely to seek his custody in the case, Jain's lawyers will oppose the agency's plea and seek bail for him.