Delhi HC grants bail to Satyendar Jain's aides in money laundering case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain, aides of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain, in connection with a money laundering case.

A bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri overturned an earlier trial court, which had denied bail to Ankush and Vaibhav in the case.

On October 18, the Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to former Delhi minister Jain taking into account his prolonged incarceration and the delay in commencement of trial.

On March 18, the Supreme Court dismissed Satyendar ain's regular bail petition and ordered him to forthwith surrender before the jail authorities.

Before that, the AAP leader remained out on interim medical bail for about 10 months. The apex court had initially granted Jain interim relief in May 2023 for six weeks but the same was extended from time to time.

As per the ED charge sheet, Satyendar Jain, while holding the office as a Minister in the Delhi government, from February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017, had acquired assets that were disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The AAP leader was placed under arrest on May 30, 2022, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2017 under Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(e) of the PC Act, 1988 against the former Minister, his wife Poonam Jain, and Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain, and Ankush Jain. A charge sheet was filed by the CBI on December 3, 2018, against Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and other accused.

The ED had provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies beneficially owned and controlled by Jain on March 31, 2022.