President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday sanctioned the prosecution against former Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain in a case investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. The case falls under the provisions of the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA),

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday sought the President of India’s approval to prosecute former Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNS), 2023 in the alleged disproportionate assets were to the tune of Rs 1.47 crore, about 217 per cent more than Jain’s known sources of income during 2015-17. The MHA has claimed that there is adequate evidence against the AAP leader to implicate him on charges of laundering money through four shell companies allegedly linked to him. Based on material received from the Enforcement Directorate, he President found sufficient evidence to grant the request, officials said.

Currently, out on bail, Jain has been chargesheeted by the ED. The money-laundering case stems from an August 2017 FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jain and others, alleging possession of disproportionate assets. Jain had recently lost Shakur Basti seat to BJP’s Karnail Singh by a margin of 20,998 votes.

During its investigation, ED questioned Jain, his close associates and family members on the details of a money trail seeking to establish the source of around Rs 27.7 crore used by five shell companies - Prayas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, JJ Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd, Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd and Mangalyatan Projects Pvt Ltd - to purchase the 123 acres from 14 people. Jain’s chartered accountant JP Mohta and three Kolkata based hawala operators - Jivendra Mishra, Abhishek Chokhani and Rajendra Bansal - in their recorded statements claimed that “all the (five) shell companies incorporated by Jain were actually being controlled by him through his wife, relatives and other close associates. All of them corroborated the fact that cash was paid to the hawala dealers and ‘entries’ (unsecured loans) were received in shell companies”.

The ED is now expected to file a fresh supplementary chargesheet informing the court about the approval of the prosecution sanction of the President, sources said.

The ED’s case against Jain stems from a 2017 FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under Section 13(2) (criminal misconduct by a public servant) read with Section 13(e) (disproportionate assets) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. In December 2018, the CBI filed a chargesheet, saying that the alleged disproportionate assets amounted to Rs 1.47 crore, about 217 per cent higher than Jain’s known sources of income between 2015-17. The agency alleged that Jain, with the help of his family members and associates, amassed disproportionate assets between February 14, 2015, and May 31, 2017, while serving as a minister in the Delhi government. The Pioneer was the first newspaper to carry this story.

The ED further claimed that several companies owned and controlled by Jain received accommodation entries amounting to Rs 4.8 crore from shell companies in exchange for cash routed through Kolkata-based hawala operators. Two other accused, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain, were said to be major shareholders and directors in three of these companies. The Delhi high court had recently dismissed their default bail pleas on October 1.

Jain was arrested in May 2022 and had remained behind bars, except for a period of 10 months between May 26, 2023, and March 18, 2024, when he was on medical bail.

The CBI filed a chargesheet in December 2018, stating that the alleged disproportionate assets were to the tune of Rs 1.47 crore, about 217 per cent more than Jain’s known sources of income during 2015-17.

Former Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had earlier defended Jain, saying he was as a “hardcore honest and patriot” person who was being framed in a “false case”.