The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a chartered accountant in connection with its probe into an ₹8,000-crore money laundering racket involving two Delhi-based businessmen and a few political entities.
The CA, Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, is also associated with transactions involving a firm allegedly linked to RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti, and is under the scanner for suspected tax evasion, officials said.
Agarwal was arrested under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) late on Monday, they said.
The officials claimed the CA was “not cooperating” and would be subjected to sustained interrogation once they obtain his custody .
Agrawal was arrested for allegedly being instrumental in providing illegal funds to launder money of businessmen Virendra and Surendra Jain. The agency has, however, now expanded its probe and has brought all his dealings under scanner.
The firm Mishail — allegedly linked to Bharti, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP — and close to two dozen entities linked to it are under the scanner of the Income Tax Department in a ₹1,000-crore dubious land deals case, and the taxman had conducted multiple raids in this connection sometime back in and around Delhi.
The company, Jagat Projects, it said, converted its unaccounted money to the tune of ₹62.20 crore into “apparently legitimate transactions by way of share subscription through 26 shell companies controlled by Jain brothers”.
The CA, officials said, was allegedly involved in routing funds for the Jain brothers, who were arrested by the ED in a ₹8,000-crore money laundering racket, allegedly being run through shell firms, in March this year.
The ED has identified at least 90 shell firms in this probe case.
The case emerged after the ED filed a criminal complaint in February this year under the PMLA.
The ED suspects the entire racket to be worth about ₹8,000 crore of slush funds.
BJP demands action
Meanwhile, the BJP has demanded that the Bihar government take action against shell companies operating in the State.
BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said Prasad and his family should tell people about their holdings and asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to walk the talk on his ‘zero-tolerance’ policy on corruption.