AAP major beneficiary in Delhi liquor scam; Kejriwal intrinsically involved: ED

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), which was given the custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till March 28 by the Rouse Avenue Court, has alleged that the Aam Adami Party (AAP) is the major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated in the alleged excise policy scam.

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Friday sent CM Kejriwal to ED custody till March 28 in the money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. Special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts passed the order after Kejriwal was produced today following his arrest last night by the central probe agency. The ED had sought 10 10-day remand of CM Kejriwal.

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Vikram Chaudhari, and Ramesh Gupta along with Advocates Rajat Bharadwaj, Mudit Jain and Mohd Irshad appeared for the Delhi CM Kejriwal. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju and Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain appeared for the probe agency.

“The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated in the Delhi liquor scam”, according to the remand note of the agency. “Part of the proceeds of crime to the tune of cash of Rs 45 Cr approx. has been utilised in the election campaign of AAP in Goa Assembly elections 2022”, the ED alleged.

#WATCH | Delhi court remands CM Arvind Kejriwal to ED custody till 28 March in excise policy case.

Arvind Kejriwal's lawyer Madan Lal says, "ED was asking for a 10-day remand. They said that to trace the money trail, a custodial investigation is necessary. Considering all… pic.twitter.com/FrNLrbrFse

— ANI (@ANI) March 22, 2024

The agency further claimed that Kejriwal was directly involved in the formation of the Excise policy. “Arvind Kejriwal has also been intrinsically involved in the entire conspiracy of the Delhi liquor scam wherein the policy was drafted and implemented in a manner wherein certain private persons were favoured and benefitted in a quid pro quo of receiving kickbacks”, the federal agency said in its remand note.

The ED also claimed that due to the actions of Arvind Kejriwal involving excise policy formulation, hatching the conspiracy of kickbacks with the South Group members, and eventually using part of the proceeds of crime generated out of this scheduled offence in the election campaign of AAP for Goa Assembly elections, it is clear it all these activities were not only done with his knowledge but also his active collusion.

Delhi CM Kejriwal was arrested by the central agency late Thursday night on charges of corruption in connection with the case. The action came after Delhi CM skipped multiple summons by the investigation agency, nine in total, calling them “illegal”.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi Excise Policy 2022, which was later scrapped.

While Kejriwal was not named in the FIRs registered by the ED or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi excise policy case, his name first found a mention in the ED’s chargesheet wherein the agency claimed that he allegedly spoke to one of the main accused, Sameer Mahendru, in a video call and asked him to continue working with co-accused and AAP communications-in-charge Vijay Nair.

Nair was among the first people to be arrested by CBI in the case, in 2022. Subsequently, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh were arrested in connection with the case. (ANI)