Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal “immediately used” part of Rs 100 crore allegedly from “kickbacks” from Delhi’s excise policy “scam” by staying at a luxury hotel in Goa, the ED has claimed in a charge sheet filed against the AAP supremo.
The federal probe agency has also said that the GoM (Group of Ministers) formed by the government in this context is “fake”.
The special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court on Tuesday took cognizance of the prosecution’s complaint, filed on May 17, and issued a production warrant for the jailed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader on July 12.
The 55-year-old and AAP politician has been named as an accused in the seventh additional charge sheet filed in the case.
Regarding Kejriwal’s role, the 209-page charge sheet said, “Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of NCT Delhi is the kingpin and main conspirator of the Delhi excise scam in collaboration with Delhi government ministers, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and other people.”
The AAP, which rules Delhi and Punjab, responded to the ED charge sheet on Tuesday saying that the BJP-led government at the Center had hatched a “huge conspiracy” against the party and that the political outfit was done.
“Arvind Kejriwal immediately used part of the proceeds of the crime personally by making Chanpreet Singh (another accused in the case) pay for Sh Arvind Kejriwal’s stay and event at the Grand Hyatt, Goa,” the agency said.
He said Kejriwal had also “mixed” the proceeds of the crime with Delhi government funds.
It has been alleged that ‘South Group’ politicians and liquor tycoons paid a bribe of Rs 100 crore to get favorable position in Delhi’s excise policy for 2021-22 and out of this fund, Rs 45 crore was sent to AAP. campaign in Goa during the 2022 polls.
“AAP kept the expenses made from crime proceeds of Rs 45 crore from its books and did not disclose the matter to the Election Commission of India,” he said.
In this way, it is alleged, Kejriwal “had control over the proceeds of the crime of Rs 100 crore at every stage, and thus the activities of generation, acquisition and possession, transfer of use and concealment and projection similar to those carried out in the proceeds of this crime by Sh Arvind Kejriwal”.
The agency said that Kejriwal is “liable” to be punished for his role in the crime of money laundering under Section 4 of the PMLA and also “vicariously” because he is responsible for the conduct of business/affairs of AAP, considered a corporation under Section 70 of the PMLA.
The agency recorded Kejriwal’s 11th statement since his arrest on March 21 from his official bungalow in Delhi, but said he had given “incoherent answers” and “hidden information” during custodial interrogation.
The ED said it had seized some digital devices used by Kejriwal but he refused to reveal the gadgets and this refusal was recorded in writing and captured in the video footage of his interrogation.
In his defence, Kejriwal told ED interrogators that his lawyers had advised him that he was “not required” to share the password of the device, the charge sheet said.
“Kejriwal who is the main in-charge of AAP and is intrinsically involved in the act of policy formulation, kickback scheme and end use of the proceeds of the crime is constituted conspiracy,” the ED said.
He said Kejriwal is the national convenor and national executive member of AAP, ultimately responsible for the funds used for election expenses including in the Goa Assembly elections.
The agency claimed that another accused in the case – Vinod Chauhan – “arranged shipments” for officials in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) “through” Arvind Kejriwal.
It was alleged that Chauhan was responsible for the transfer of Rs 25.5 crore from Delhi to Goa, out of the alleged Rs 45 crore kickbacks for the poll campaign.
The ED said the GoM formed by the Delhi government was “bogus as revealed by the statement of excise officials who said they were never consulted on key policy decisions.”
Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot recorded a statement with the agency that he “only agreed to the policy change because Manish Sisodia (former deputy CM of Delhi and excise minister) is a senior leader and he said that increasing the revenue from 5 percent to 12 percent is a proposal that good and so he (Gahlot) accepted.
The ED said the excise policy brought by AAP leaders was “a result of a quid pro quo conspiracy to continuously generate and channel illegal funds for themselves and certain private individuals.”
The charge sheet also said that Vijay Nair was a “close friend” and acted as an intermediary for receiving kickbacks or kickbacks from various stakeholders in the Delhi liquor business in exchange for favorable results in the policies he made and Kejriwal demanded kickbacks from The Southern Group in exchange for giving favors to them in the formulation and implementation of policies.
He said that when certain L1 wholesalers refused to give kickbacks to AAP in Delhi, their business was targeted in Punjab through state officials, so they played a role in removing them.
It said BRS leader K Kavitha “conspired with South Group members and AAP leaders through Vijay Nair to pay ransom to the tune of Rs 100 crore and get undue benefits”.
Regarding Kejriwal’s conduct, the charge sheet said that he submitted false information and gave incorrect answers during the custodial interrogation.
“When asked about Vijay Nair’s relationship and reporting to accused Arvind Kejriwal, he said that Vijay Nair did not report him but Atishi Marlena and Saurav Bharadwaj and his interaction with Sh Vijay Nair was limited.
However, Vijay Nair’s own statement states that he lives in a cabinet minister’s bungalow and works from the CM’s camp office,” he said with examples of “wrong answers”.
“The accused even gave false evidence and contradicted other AAP members and contradicted the available facts and records. When he was confronted with the statement given by the party leader, he was said to be confused,” the charge sheet added.
The excise case was related to allegations of corruption and money laundering during the formulation and implementation of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was subsequently withdrawn.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has recommended a CBI probe into the alleged violations. Subsequently, the ED registered a case under PMLA.
Taking cognizance of the CBI FIR filed on August 17, 2022, the ED filed a money laundering case on August 22, 2022, to investigate the alleged irregularities.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from the feed of syndicated news agency – PTI)
