The Enforcement Directorate has mentioned Mr. Kejriwal and the AAP in its chargesheet.
New Delhi: According to the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet against AAP president Arvind Kejriwal, he “directly used” ₹ 100 crore that was allegedly earned from the “kickbacks” of the Delhi excise policy “scam” to stay at an opulent hotel in Goa.
In this regard, his government’s GoM (Group of Ministers) was described as a “sham” by the federal investigative agency.
On Tuesday, a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) acknowledged the prosecution’s May 17 charge and issued a July 12 production order for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader who is currently detained.
This seventh additional chargesheet in the case names the 55-year-old lawmaker and the AAP as accused parties.
The 209-page chargesheet, which details Mr. Kejriwal’s involvement, states that “Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of NCT of Delhi, is the kingpin and key conspirator of the Delhi excise scam in collusion with ministers of Delhi govt, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and other persons.”
In response to the ED chargesheet on Tuesday, the AAP, which controls Delhi and Punjab, said that the BJP-led government at the Centre has hatched a “big conspiracy” against the party and that the political organization was being destroyed.
“Arvind Kejriwal has directly used part of these proceeds of crime personally by making Chanpreet Singh (another accused in the case) to make payment for Sh Arvind Kejriwal stay and event at the Grand Hyatt, Goa,” according to the agency.
According to the report, Mr. Kejriwal also “mingled” these illicit gains with government monies in Delhi.
A beneficial position in the Delhi excise policy for 2021–22 is allegedly gained by the ‘South Group’ of politicians and liquor businesses who allegedly paid ₹ 100 crore in bribes. Approximately ₹ 45 crore of these money were used for the AAP campaign in Goa during the 2022 assembly polls.
“The AAP kept the expenses made out of the proceeds of crime of ₹ 45 crore out of the books and did not disclose the same to the Election Commission of India,” it stated.
It said that Mr. Kejriwal “had the control over the proceeds of crime of ₹ 100 crore at each step, and therefore activity of generation, acquisition, and possession, the proceeds of crime carried out by Sh Arvind Kejriwal were used for transfer, concealed, and projected as pristine.
According to the agency, Mr. Kejriwal is “liable” to be penalized for his involvement in the money laundering offense under section 4 of the PMLA as well as “vicariously” as he is in charge of the AAP’s operations, which are considered a firm under section 70 of the PMLA.
The agency said that Mr. Kejriwal provided “evasive replies” and “concealed information” during his custodial questioning, despite the fact that they had recorded his testimony eleven times since his detention on March 21 at his official home in Delhi.
The ED claimed to have confiscated many digital devices belonging to Mr. Kejriwal, but he declined to open them. This refusal was documented in writing and showed up on the video of his interrogation.
According to the chargesheet, Mr. Kejriwal informed the ED interrogators during his defense that he is “not required” to provide the password to these devices, as recommended by his counsel.
“Mr Kejriwal who is the ultimate in-charge of AAP and was intrinsically involved in the acts of policy formulation, kickback scheme and the final use of the proceeds of crime thus generated including conspiracy thereof,” according to the ED.
It stated that Mr. Kejriwal, as the AAP’s national convenor and a member of the national executive, was ultimately in charge of allocating the cash for election expenditures, including those associated with the Goa assembly elections.
According to the agency, Arvind Kejriwal was “through” Vinod Chauhan, another accused in the investigation, who was “managing postings” for personnel in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
Out of the claimed 45 crore in kickbacks intended for the election campaign, Chauhan is accused of being in charge of transferring ₹ 25.5 crore from Delhi to Goa.
The GoM, which the Delhi government had established, was described by the ED as “a sham as revealed by statements of the excise officials who revealed that they were never consulted on any major policy decision.”
As per the report, Kailash Gehlot, the minister of transportation in Delhi, recorded his statement with the agency stating that he merely consented to the policy changes because Manish Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister of Delhi and minister of excise, was a senior leader. Sisodia had informed Gehlot that raising the profit margin from 5% to 12% was a good proposal, so Gehlot accepted it.
The excise policy was allegedly implemented by AAP leaders as “a result of the conspiracy of quid pro quo to continuously generate and channel illegal funds to themselves and certain private individuals,” according to the ED.
According to the chargesheet, Kejriwal demanded kickbacks from the South Group in exchange for doing them favors during the formulation and implementation of the policy. Vijay Nair was described as another “close associate” of his who served as a middleman for obtaining bribes or kickbacks from various stakeholders in the Delhi liquor business in exchange for favorable outcomes in the policy being drafted.
According to the report, he assisted in arm-twisting several L1 wholesalers in Punjab whose firms were being pursued by state officials after they refused to offer bribes to the AAP in Delhi.
It stated that K Kavitha, the head of the BRS, “conspired with the members of the South Group and the AAP leaders through Vijay Nair to pay kickbacks to the tune of ₹ 100 crore and receive undue benefits” .
According to the chargesheet, Mr. Kejriwal gave misleading information and evasive responses when being questioned in custody.
“When asked about the degree of Vijay Nair’s reporting and engagement with the accused Arvind Kejriwal, he replied that there was little to no interaction between him and Sh Vijay Nair and that Vijay Nair reported more to Atishi Marlena and Saurav Bharadwaj. It stated, as an example of his “misleading replies,” that Vijay Nair “reveals that he worked from the CM’s camp office and resided in a cabinet minister’s bungalow.”
“The accused has even provided misleading testimony that is at odds with the facts and records that are at hand, as well as against other AAP members. The chargesheet also stated, “He called his own party leaders confused when they presented their statements to him.”
The excise case concerns allegations of money laundering and corruption during the development and implementation of the excise policy for 2021–2022 by the Delhi government, which was subsequently abandoned.
V K Saxena, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, has suggested that the CBI look into the purported anomalies. Following that, the ED filed a PMLA complaint.
In order to look into the claimed anomalies, the ED filed a money laundering case on August 22, 2022, taking note of a CBI FIR that had been filed on August 17, 2022.
