The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Misa Bharti, daughter of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, for recording her statement on Tuesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with a case involving shell companies.
The agency had issued summons to Ms. Bharti’s husband, Shailesh Kumar, for questioning on Monday. However, he failed to turn up. “We will summon him again,” an official said. The move comes after the ED raids on the premises of Ms. Bharti, an RJD MP, her husband and their company Mishail Packers and Printers in the national capital on July 8.
Money laundering
The searches were part of an investigation related to a charge sheet filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office against Surendra and his brother Virendra Jain for alleged money laundering using shell companies.
The ED says four shell companies allegedly controlled by the Jains had bought 1.2 lakh shares of Mishail Packers and Printers at ₹100 each in in 2007-08. The shares were later allegedly bought back by Ms. Bharti at ₹10 a unit. The agency has alleged that Rajesh Agarwal, a chartered accountant and mediator, provided ₹90 lakh in cash to the Jain brothers in advance for investments in Mishail Packers and Printers as share premium. The Jains purportedly disclosed that they would receive cash and invest it as share premium.
