The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on Friday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case. The court cited "delay in trial" and his "long incarceration" while granting bail to Jain.
Satyendar Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 30, 2022, on the charge of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him.
The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on Friday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case. The court cited "delay in trial" and his "long incarceration" while granting bail to Jain.
The court granted the relief to Jain on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 with two sureties of like amount.
Satyendar Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 30, 2022, on the charge of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him.
Satyendar Jain was till now in judicial custody, walked out of the Tihar Jail of Delhi on Friday evening, hours after the bail.
Special Judge Rakesh Syal had reserved the order after hearing the arguments on the application from Satyendar Jain as well as the ED.
Satyendar Jain's counsel had told the court that keeping him in jail further serves no purpose, however, the ED had opposed the application, saying that if released, the AAP leader may influence the witnesses or flee from justice.
The ED case stems from an FIR lodged against Jain by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act which accused of him having laundered money through four companies.
A month before Satyendar Jain's arrest, the ED had provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to these companies and a fifth one - viz 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 had said in a statement that investigations revealed that in 2015-16, when Satyendar Jain was a public servant, the "above-mentioned companies beneficially owned and controlled by him received accommodation entries to the tune of Rs 4.81 crore from shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through the Hawala route."
“These amounts were utilised for direct purchase of land or for the repayment of loan taken for purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi,” as per the ED statement cited in an Indian Express report.
The CBI complaint alleged that Satyendar Jain could not explain the source of funds received by four companies in which he was a shareholder. CBI then had registered a case against him, his wife and four others on charges of corruption and also questioned him in the case.
The CBI said that in 2015-16, when Jain and his wife were allegedly holders of one-third of the shares in Prayas Info Solutions, Akinchan Developers, Managalyatan Projects and Indo-Metal Impex Pvt, Rs 4.63 crore was allegedly received through these companies.
The CBI has alleged that Jain had control over these companies either as director or by holding one-third of the shares of these companies in his name or in the names of his family members or others, as per the report.
The agency alleged these were shell firms which enabled parking money in the form of investments in equity shares in connivance with Kolkata-based shell companies.
Moreover, the CBI had also said that “before becoming a public servant, he [Satyendar Jain] was allegedly involved in laundering Rs 11.78 crore during 2010-12 through these companies as well as other firms also based in New Delhi.”
The funds were allegedly used to purchase over 200 bighas [over 120 acre] of land in Auchandi, Bawana, Karala and Mohammed Mazvi villages in Delhi between 2010 and 2016, CBI sources had said.