Post-demonetisation laundering case : ED files charge-sheet against ex-Congress MLA Rajesh Jain

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a charge-sheet against former Congress MLA Rajesh Jain and two others for allegedly making illegal money transactions of nearly Rs 8 crore using "fake bank accounts" at the time of demonetisation two years ago.

This is the second supplementary charge-sheet filed in the money laundering probe against lawyer Rohit Tandon, who was granted bail by Delhi High Court on May 10, and nine others. Besides Jain, two new names have come up in the third charge sheet. They are businessmen Subhash Chandra Gupta and Satish Kumar.

The document was filed by ED special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana before Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav, who has kept it for consideration along with other charge sheets on July 20.

In its charge sheet the ED has contended that accused Rajesh, Subhash and Satish directly attempted to indulge and knowingly assisted in laundering the illegitimate demonetised currency allegedly belonging to Tandon and the commission was derived and obtained for this conversion through the use of shell firms.

The prosecuting agency has sought initiation of proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 against all the accused. Rajesh Jain was arrested by the Delhi police in 2017 for allegedly making illegal transactions following the notes ban and helping in exchange of demonetised notes worth Rs 4.5 crore.

The accused who have been charge-sheeted by the ED are Tandon, Ashish Kumar, R K Goel, Dinesh Bhola, Kamal Jain, Yogesh Mittal, R C Sharma, Rajesh Jain, Satish Kumar and S C Gupta.

The ED said that Rajesh Jain was an associate of Mittal, who was a part of the group comprising other accused who went to collect the demonetised cash of Rohit Tandon from his premises in Chhatarpur on November 15, 2016.

It alleged that Jain opened two firms -- Jai Jinendra Sales and Sri Niwas Sales, through Mittal which have been used to transfer money from four bank accounts under instructions of Mittal.

Mittal was arrested by the ED in June 2017 for allegedly "picking up demonetised cash" belonging to Tandon during November 14-19, 2016 and depositing it in various bank accounts of shell companies.

It was found that demonetised currency worth Rs 4.5 crore was deposited in Jain's two bank accounts in 2017 and he had charged a commission for getting it deposited in his account.

All those named in the charge-sheet have been accused of allegedly conspiring to exchange the demonetised notes of denominations Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 for new notes and to earn a huge profit by illegal means.

In a raid conducted on December 10, 2016, Rs 13.5 crore was seized from a law firm's office in southeast Delhi's Greater Kailash-I area, of which Rs 2.6 crore was in new currency notes.

The raid was carried out at the office of T&T law firm owned by Tandon, against whom an FIR was registered.