More trouble for Satyendra Jain? ED summons Delhi minister’s wife Poonam in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has spelled more trouble for Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendra Jain, as the investigation in the money laundering case linked to him has now involved his wife, Poonam Jain.

The ED on Friday asked Delhi minister Satyendar Jain’s wife, Poonam Jain, to be present before the agency next week while it extracts information from the digital devices seized in a money laundering case against him and others, officials said Friday.

As per PTI reports, Poonam Jain is expected to be present in front of the investigation officers of ED at the central agency’s headquarters in Delhi next week. She will be present during the extraction of data from the devices seized during a series of raids conducted against the AAP minister two weeks ago.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendra Jain, who is 57 years old, was arrested by the ED on May 30 under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is in judicial custody at present.

He is a minister without a portfolio in the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government. Jain has held health, power, and a few other charges. Earlier, he used to hold the Health portfolio in the Delhi cabinet, but his position was stripped down after he was arrested in the hawala case.

After at least two rounds of raids against the AAP leader, ED had claimed to have seized “unexplained” cash worth Rs 2.85 crore and 133 gold coins after the first round of raids conducted on June 6 against Jain’s family and others.

A charge sheet was filed by the CBI in December 2018, stating that the alleged disproportionate assets were worth Rs 1.47 crore, about 217 percent more than his known sources of income, during 2015-17.

Meanwhile, AAP leaders have alleged that the Centre and BJP are using central agencies like ED and CBI to target their ministers as they feel “threatened”. They also said that Jain is being mistreated by ED officers while he is in custody, and a “fake” case has been filed against him.