Rs 8,000 money laundering case: ED issues summon to Lalu Yadav's son'in-law Shailesh Kumar

Patna: Trouble seems to be far from ending for Lalu Prasad Yadav, with the Enforcement Directorate issuing summon to RJD chief's son-in-law Shailesh Kumar, in the alleged Rs 8,000 crore money laundering case.

The latest summon comes a day after Lalu's daughter Misa Bharti was questioned by the ED for eight hours on Tuesday.

The ED had on July 8 conducted searches at three Delhi farmhouses of Bharti, her husband Shailesh Kumar and the firm.

The agency officials said that the questioning of Misa Bharti was related to a Rs 8,000 crore money laundering probe being conducted by the agency against Delhi-based businessmen brothers -- Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain, and others who are alleged to have laundered several crore rupees using over 90 shell companies.

The Jain brothers were arrested by the ED earlier under the PMLA.

One of the firms that the arrested duo dealt with was Ms Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.

Bharti and her husband are alleged to have been directors of this firm in the past.

The agency said it was detected that 1,20,000 shares of M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited were bought during 2007-08 at a rate of Rs 100 per share by four shell companies -- M/s Shalini Holdings Limited, M/s Ad-Fin Capital Services (India) Pvt. Ltd, M/s Mani Mala Delhi Properties Pvt. Ltd., and M/s Diamond Vinimay Pvt. Ltd.

These 1,20,000 shares, it said, were allegedly bought back by Bharti at Rs 10 per share.

According to the ED official, same money was used to purchase farmhouse in Bijwasan at a low price of Rs 1.41 crore in 2008-09, whereas its actual value was above Rs 50 crore.

The agency's action comes in the wake of the raids it carried on Saturday at three premises of Misa Bharti, her husband and Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt. Ltd in connection with the alleged money laundering.

The ED had raided Misa Bharti's premises a day after the CBI raided multiple premises of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo, his wife Rabri Devi and two sons -- Tejashwi and Tej Pratap Yadav -- who are ministers in Bihar government for allegedly receiving a three-acre plot of land as a quid pro quo for leasing out two railway hotels to a private company when Lalu Prasad was the Railways Minister in the UPA government.

Last month, the Income Tax department had attached over 12 properties of her relatives, including her husband, and brothers under the Benami Act.

The ED had also arrested Rajesh Agarwal, a Chartered Accountant allegedly linked to Bharti, who provided accommodation entries (black funds) of about Rs 60 lakh to M/s Mishail Printers and Packers Private Limited.