MHA seeks Presidential sanction to prosecute former Delhi minister Satyendra Jain

The Union Home Ministry has sought the President’s approval to prosecute AAP leader and former Delhi minister Satyendra Jain in a money-laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), sources revealed on Friday.

According to sources, the prosecution sanction for the 60-year-old politician has been requested under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

The ministry made the request to the President of India based on the ED’s investigation and the availability of “adequate proof,” they added.

Jain was booked by the federal agency in a money-laundering case linked to alleged hawala transactions and was arrested in May 2022.

At the time of his arrest, he held key portfolios, including health and power, in the Delhi government.

He is currently out on bail and has been charge-sheeted by the ED.

The money-laundering case originates from an August 2017 FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jain and others, accusing them of possessing disproportionate assets.

In December 2018, the CBI filed a chargesheet, alleging that Jain’s disproportionate assets amounted to Rs 1.47 crore, which was approximately 217 per cent more than his known sources of income between 2015-17.

The ED had previously stated that its investigation found that during 2015-16, while serving as a public servant, Jain and four companies under his ownership and control received accommodation entries (hawala transactions) amounting to Rs 4.81 crore from bogus shell companies. These transactions were allegedly facilitated by cash transfers to Kolkata-based entry operators through the hawala route.

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The agency claimed that these funds were either used for direct purchases of agricultural land or for repaying loans taken to buy agricultural land in and around Delhi.

Meanwhile, former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal had earlier defended Jain, describing him as a “hardcore honest and patriotic” individual who was being falsely implicated in the case.

(With inputs from PTI)