Naresh Jain, the prime suspect in a hawala scam, has claimed that he is "being framed", after the Enforcement Directorate unearthed one of the biggest money laundering operations in the country while carrying out raids at Jain's eight different premises in Delhi.
The ED said that Jain's hawala (money laundering) transactions are to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion).
Jain, who is allegedly an aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, has been booked under various provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act and some more cases including money laundering are likely to be levelled against him.
Those associated with the investigations claim that Jain has properties worth more than Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion).
The ED, which took several months to complete this investigation, also alleged that Jain has close associations with several top politicians in the country for whom he was laundering money.
According to the investigators, Jain figured in the list of criminals in 1990 for providing money to the politicians for bribing officials to get work done.
Jain had shifted his base from Dubai to India, and was operating from his house in Pritampura in Delhi till the authorities showed up to question him about his links with terrorists and the kind of money he allegedly made available to Hizbul Muzahideen, a well known terrorist outfit which has been banned by the United States.
The Americans want to be associated with investigations, but they would find it difficult to get the Indian government agreeing to such a suggestion, sources said.
Meanwhile, the investigation in the Jain hawala case has created ripples in the political circles.
