The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted searches against arrested Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged hawala dealings.
The searches, including that at the residential premises of Jain in Delhi and other locations, are being conducted as part of a "follow up" in the case, officials said.
Jain, 57, was arrested on May 30 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he is in ED custody till June 9.
During Jain’s custodial interrogation, the ED is said to have found some new evidence and links with hawala operators. The searches were launched to gather further details on these inputs and connect the dots, they said. Jain is currently a Minister without any portfolio in the Delhi Government. Over half-a-dozen of Jain’s portfolios were transferred to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on June 2. In April, the ED had attached assets worth Rs 4.81 crore of Jain's family and companies "beneficially owned and controlled" by him as part of the probe.
The money laundering case against the AAP Minister follows an August 2017 FIR filed by the CBI against him and others on charges of alleged possession of disproportionate assets.
In December 2018, the CBI filed a chargesheet stating that the alleged disproportionate assets were valued at Rs 1.47 crore, about 217 per cent more than his known sources of income, during 2015-17.
The Income Tax Department, too, had probed these transactions and issued an order attaching "benami assets" allegedly linked to Jain.
In a statement after attaching Jain’s assets, the ED had said it issued a provisional order under the PMLA to "attach immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd., Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd., Manglayatan Projects Pvt. Ltd., J.J. Ideal Estate Pvt. Ltd., Swati Jain, wife of Vaibhav Jain, Sushila Jain, wife of Ajit Prasad Jain, and Indu Jain, wife of Sunil Jain."