Panacea Biotech Chief Held For Fera Violation

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ravindra Jain, CMD Panacea Biotech and a close associate of controversial godman Chandraswami.

Sources said ED sleuths have found evidence to show that Jain arranged the payment of over Rs 1.51 crore to one Rakesh Jain for the purchase of property in south Delhi.

The hawala money is said to have been originated from NRI Somchai Chaishree Chawla in Thailand.

Ravindra Jain, who is said to be a very close associate of Chandraswami, has been remanded to the custody of ED sleuths. This is the first time that an accused under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (Fera) has been remanded to ED custody.

Officials described the arrest of Ravindra Jain as a big catch for the ED.

The case relates to the documents seized from the south Delhi ashram of Vishwa Dharmayatan Trust, the trust floated by Chandraswami, relating to the purchase of over 200 acres of land around the capital.

The source of the hawala money, Chawla, had earlier had filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging that Chandraswami had duped money from him. Chawla withdrew his complaint to the CBI later, amidst rumours that a patch up had been managed at the political level.