ED attaches Rs 1.12 crore assets of Delhi businessmen

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached property worth Rs 1.12 crore of two Delhi-based businessmen brothers accused of 'benami' transactions involving over Rs 200 crore by using shell companies, an official said.

"We have provisionally attached the agricultural land owned by Surendra Kumar Jain and his brother Virendra Jain -- known as Jain brothers -- at Bhatti village in south Delhi," an ED official said.

The official said the agency on Tuesday filed a prosecution complaint against the Jain brothers at a Patiala House court.

In April, the ED had attached Divine Infracon Pvt Ltd's holding totalling Rs 64.70 crore in a hotel property in Dwarka in Delhi, the official said.

"The ED has so far attached properties with total worth of Rs 65.82 crore in the case."

The Jain brothers, through Jagat Project Pvt Ltd, had converted their unaccounted Rs 64.70 crore into apparently legitimate transactions by way of share subscription by various shell companies, the official said.

Of this, Rs 62.20 crore of unaccounted money was laundered through 26 shell companies controlled by the brothers, he said.

The ED on April 13 conducted raids across the capital in connection with benami transactions of the Jain brothers, who were arrested on March 20.

The agency registered a case on February 11 following a criminal complaint filed by the Serious Fraud investigating Office (SFIO) in Delhi's Tis Hazari courts against the brothers, Jagat Project Pvt Ltd and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery and under the provisions of the Companies Act.

The two brothers are accused of providing accommodation entries by accepting funds from their beneficiaries through mediators and converting it into share premium transactions in the beneficiary company.

The SFIO, in its investigation report, made references to the Income Tax assessment order, through whom the brothers laundered Rs 3,790 crore for the beneficiaries from 2004-05 to 2010-11, the official said.

--IANS

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