The Supreme Court has hailed the Bombay High Court for its courage to order a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe against Anand Jain a prominent businessman considered a close aide of Mukesh Ambani and referred by many as the “third son” of Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani. In an order dated March 17 an apex court bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan lauded the Bombay HCs courage for ordering an SIT probe against Jain in an alleged case of financial fraud worth Rs 2400 crore. We admire and appreciate the courage with which the High Court has passed the order. This is what is expected of any High Court the SC order stated. Bombay HC orders SIT probe against Anand Jain Earlier this year in January the Bombay Hight Court had issued directions to the zonal director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to form an SIT for conducting thorough investigation of multiple complaints of financial fraud against Anand Jain. A bench of Bombay HC Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj K. Chavan issued the directive to CBI based on a plea by Shoaib Richie Sequeira a Mumbai-based businessman who had earlier filed complaints against Jain with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police in December 2021 and April 2023. In his plea to the top court Sequeira had accused the Mumbai Police of not conducting a proper or impartial investigation into the allegations against Jain which prompted to approach the high court. What are the allegations against Anand Jain? According to the complaints filed against Anand Jain the businessman and his company Jai Corp are accused of defrauding investors misappropriation of public funds for personal gain round-tripping of funds through shell companies based in tax havens aka money laundering and creation of dubious and fictitious invoices The allegations are serious offenses of financial fraud and money laundering under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). SC junks Jains SLP Following the Bombay HC ruling Anand Jain had challenged the order in the Supreme Court by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) but the apex court refused to intervene in the matter while lauding the HCs judgement. It is the least that the High Court could have done in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case. The Zonal Director CBI Mumbai shall now proceed to comply with the directions issued by the High Court and undertake the investigation in accordance with law. Therefore we need not interfere with the impugned order said the Supreme Court. Senior Advocate Amit Desai who represented Jai Corp had argued that the original plea had only requested a preliminary inquiry not a full-scale investigation contending that the petition was an abuse of legal processes while urging the SC to examine the bona fides of the complainant. However these arguments were dismissed by the apex court stating that Having heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties and having reviewed the materials on record we find no reason to interfere with the impugned order. We leave it open for the parties to avail appropriate legal remedies available to them including challenging the legality and validity of the FIR. CBI lodges FIR against Jain - What did investigations reveal? Meanwhile based on the directive issued by the Bombay High Court the CBI has registered an FIR against Anand Jain and his company in which the veteran businessman has been accused of committing fraud to the tune of Rs 2434 crore. The central agencys investigation in the case also involves Urban Infrastructure Venture Capital and Urban Infrastructure Trustees Ltd two firms floated by sister companies of Jai Corp and their associated partners. As per the FIR Anand Jain and his associates acting as directors and promoters of Jai Corp Ltd conspired to float the above mentioned two entities between May 2006 and June 2008 and together these firms raised Rs 2434 crore from the public under the pretext of investing in the Urban Infrastructure Opportunities Fund for real estate development in Mumbai and other locations. Further the FIR alleges that on January 31 2006 an Indenture of Trust (IoT) was registered with the Mumbai registrar of assurances by the two aforementioned entities as settlor and trustee to establish a venture capital fund which was later registered by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). As per the IoT no transaction or investment would be made with any entity that had a conflicting interest with the directors officers or employees. However Jain and his associates violated this clause and allegedly misappropriated public funds by making investments and issuing unsecured loans to sister concerns. The CBI has also accused these sister companies of Jai Corp of falsely recording unsecured loans as losses over several years using fabricated documents to justify construction projects. According to the FIR the accused entities allegedly executed forged agreements to justify advance payments for benami land purchases further supporting the fraudulent activities. Jai Corp is also accused of fraudulently exporting goods to Sarbags PTY Ltd in New South Wales Australia and Assurance Products Corporation in California USA using fictitious invoices and documents thereby diverting funds for their own benefit. Between 2010 and 2017 Jain’s parent company is accused of fraudulently exporting goods to Sarbags PTY Ltd in New South Wales Australia and Assurance Products Corporation in California USA using fictitious invoices and documents thereby diverting funds for their own benefit. Who is Anand Jain? A renowned name in the business world Anand Jain heads Jai Corp Limited as its Chairman and was once ranked 11th on the Forbes list of 40 richest Indians. Anands son Harsh Jain is the co-founder and CEO of fantasy sports platform Dream 11. According to Forbes Mukesh Ambani and Anand Jain had planned to develop several special economic zones (SEZs) as well as a port but faced setbacks in land acquisition. Jain is a major name in the real estate business having investments in 33 projects in 14 cities across India. Anand Jain and Mukesh Ambani share a close friendship since the school days at Mumbais Hill Grange High School. Over time Jain also became close to Dhirubhai Ambani and was considered a close confidante of the Reliance founder till the latters demise. For this reason Anand Jain is referred to by many as Dhirubhai Ambanis third son.