ED recovers incriminating documents, mobile phones from Misa Bharti's residence

While conducting raids at Lalu Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti's premises today, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recovered and seized various incriminating documents, electronic devices including mobile phones.

The ED earlier today conducted searches at the premises of M/s Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd. at Bijwasan and the residential premises of its directors, Shailesh Kumar and Misa Bharti at Ghitorni and Sainik Farms in New Delhi.

Bharti's Chartered Accountant (CA) Rakesh Agrawal was earlier arrested, in connection with an ED probe into a Rs. 8,000 crore money laundering racket, involving two Delhi-based businessmen and a few political entities.

Agrawal was arrested under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly being instrumental in providing accommodation entries (illegal funds) to launder the money of businessmen brothers - Virendra Jain and Surendra Jain.

Earlier, Serious Fraud Investigating Office (SFIO) had filed a criminal complaint in Delhi's Tis Hazari Court, against Jain Brothers and others.

The modus operandi of Jain Brothers was to launder the unaccounted money through the process of placement of funds (cash), layering of transactions and the final integration of laundering money into the banking channel camouflaged as legitimate share premium transactions. Funds in cash were brought in by the mediators on behalf of the beneficiaries through the mediators.

Jain Brothers were providing accommodation entries by accepting cash from their beneficiaries through mediators and converting the same into share premium transactions in the beneficiary company.

In this process, Jain Brothers earned money as a certain percentage of the unaccounted money converted into share premium.

During further investigation against Jain Brothers, Jagat Projects Ltd. and others, it has come out that the 1,20,000 shares of M/s Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd. were bought during the year 2007-08 by four shell companies.

Out of these shell companies, three were registered at Delhi and were managed and controlled by Jain Brothers.

During investigation, it has been gathered that CA Rajesh Agarwal provided cash Rs. 90 lakh to Jain Brothers in advance so as to invest in M/s Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd. as share premium.

Jain Brothers also disclosed that their modus operandi was to receive cash in advance from the beneficiaries and invest as share premium and subsequently selling these shares at a huge discount to the directors/close relatives of beneficiaries.

Surendra Kumar Jain, Virendra Jain and Shri Rajesh Kumar Agarwal have already been arrested by the ED and are under Judicial Custody. So far property worth Rs. 65.82 crore has been provisionally attached.

The company, M/s Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd., was registered at the address 25, Tuglak Road, New Delhi till the shares were bought back by Ms. Misa Bharti. It was only during the year 2009-10 that the address was changed to Farm No. 26 Palam Farms, VPO Bijwasan, New Delhi.

Misa Bharti and Shailesh Kumar were the directors of the company during the relevant period.