The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday raided three Delhi farmhouses of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar, and a firm linked to them in a money laundering case. ED sleuths also questioned Shailesh separately.
The ED raids on premises of Misa came a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided establishments of her father and RJD chief lalu Prasad and her brother and Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in case of corruption related to two IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri. The farmhouses raided by ED are in Ghitorni, Bijwasan and Sainik Farms.
The ED sleuths swooped on the farmhouses early morning and according to information provided by the agency, the properties are linked to Misa, Shailesh and M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private limited. Two more premises are under the scanner of the agency and can be searched later, an ED official said.
Till reports last came in, ED officials confirmed having seized various “incriminating” documents, electronic devices, including mobile phones, during the raids. While lalu and his kin have been alleging political witch-hunting by the BJP-led Government at the Centre, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi denied it. “There is no politics involved in the matter. The law will take its own course,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Hyderabad.
The ED searches are connected to a money laundering probe being conducted by the agency based on a chargesheet filed by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) against two brothers, Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain among others who are alleged to have laundered several crores of rupees using shell companies.
The Jain brothers were arrested by the ED under provisions of the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA). The duo dealt with M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private limited. Misa and her husband are alleged to have been Directors in this firm.
According to initial investigation by the agency, about 1.20 lakh shares of M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private limited were bought during 2007-08 at a rate of Rs 100 per share by four shell companies — M/s Shalini Holdings limited, M/s Ad-Fin Capital Services (India) Pvt. ltd, M/s Mani Mala Delhi Properties Pvt. ltd., and M/s Diamond Vinimay Pvt. ltd. These 1.20 lakh shares, an ED official said, were bought back by Misa at Rs 10 per share. These companies were controlled and used by the Jain brothers to launder money.
The ED had also arrested Rajesh Agarwal, a Chartered Accountant allegedly linked to Misa, who provided accommodation entries (black funds) of about Rs 60 lakh to M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private limited. The firm was registered at 25, Tughlaq Road in the Capital, the official residence of lalu Prasad, till the shares were bought back by Misa. It was only in 2009-10, the address of the firm was changed to Bijwasan, ED official added. The ED has provisionally attached properties worth Rs 65.82 crore since launching investigation in the case.
Till reports last poured in, Shailesh was being questioned by ED sleuths. The agency may question Misa too in this regard. last month, Misa was grilled by Income Tax officials for over five hours in connection with a case involving multi-crore benami land transactions.