Money laundering: ED lodges prosecution complaint against Jain Brothers

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a prosecution complaint against several money launderers, as per the provisions prescribed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

The complaint was filed against M/s Jagat Projects Limited, and its directors Sant Lal Aggarwal and Satish Pawa and various shell companies operated by Jain Brothers (Surender Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain), before a special court of Patiala House New Delhi.

A chargesheet was also filed against Charted Accountant Rajesh Agrawal on Friday, who tendered his services to the directors of M/s Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti and her husband, Shailesh Kumar.

Earlier, a criminal complaint was filed by the Serious Fraud Investigating Office (SFIO) in the Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi, against the Jain Brothers and others, based on which investigation was commenced.

During the investigation, it was revealed that M/s Jagat Project Ltd and its directors converted their unaccounted money to the tune of Rs. 64.70 Crore into legitimate transactions by way of share subscription through various shell companies. Out of this amount, Rs. 62.20 Crore of unaccounted money was laundered through 26 shell companies controlled by the Jain Brothers.

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

Jain Brothers provided accommodation entries by accepting funds from their beneficiaries through mediators and converting the same into share premium transactions in the beneficiary company. In this process, the Jain Brothers earned money as a certain percentage of the unaccounted money converted into share premium.

During the investigation, based on the statements of various persons recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA and analysis of documents, it was established that Rajesh Kumar Agrawal played a pivotal role in the transactions between the Jain brothers and M/s Jagat Projects Ltd. and various other beneficiaries. Further, it was established that for conversion of unaccounted money, commission was paid by the beneficiaries to the accused.

Earlier, properties worth Rs. 64.70 Crore of M/s Jagat Projects Ltd. and properties worth Rs. 1,11,96,000 of the Jain Brothers were attached provisionally under the provisions of PMLA, 2002. Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain were arrested on March 20, and the prosecution complaint against both of them was filed on May 18.