The Delhi liquor policy-related money laundering case will see the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) named as an accused party in a new chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This is the first time a national party has been included as an accused party in the chargesheet of a corruption case filed by any agency. In the case that was filed in 2022, the ED will attach some new assets in addition to designating the AAP as an accused party.
ED Prepares Chargesheet Involving Arvind Kejriwal and Others; Details of the Case
Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of the AAP and the jailed chief minister of Delhi, will also be named as an accused in the case by the central agency. After the Supreme Court’s hearing on the matter is concluded, the ED will submit the chargesheet. According to India Today, if the hearing goes on all day, the chargesheet will be submitted the following day.
In addition to Kejriwal and the AAP, the chargesheet might also name K Kavitha, the leader of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and a few other people as accused. On March 21, Kejriwal was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) from his official residence in Delhi. On March 15, K Kavitha, an MLC and the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was arrested in Hyderabad.
According to official sources, the ED may file a prosecution complaint before a special PMLA court in the next four to five days. The complaint is directed towards numerous entities, including Kejriwal and K Kavitha, as well as some related people and businesses.
Also Read: ED to name Arvind Kejriwal as accused in Delhi Liquor Policy scam chargesheet
ED Prepares Charges under PMLA Sections Against Arvind Kejriwal and Associates
They also stated that the prosecution will file a complaint under PMLA sections 45 and 44(1), accusing the accused of money laundering. In this case, the central agency has filed seven chargesheets. To date, 18 people have been arrested, including AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and former deputy chief minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia.
Recently, Sanjay Singh was granted bail. Aam Aadmi Party insiders asserted that the saffron party merely wished to discredit Arvind Kejriwal and that the anticipated complaint was nothing more than the BJP’s chargesheet.
However, ED sources stated that Kejriwal is anticipated to face charges from the agency for “non-cooperation” in the investigation and “vicariously” liable for the offense committed by the AAP due to his role as the party’s national convenor and his active participation in the day-to-day operations and business dealings of the AAP.
They added that the agency might press its earlier accusation that Arvind Kejriwal, as national convenor of the AAP and a member of its national executive, was “ultimately responsible for the funds being used in the election expenses including their generation.”
ED Alleges Arvind Kejriwal as ‘Kingpin’ in Delhi Excise Scam: Details Unveiled
The central agency has labeled the imprisoned Delhi chief minister as the “kingpin and key conspirator” of the Delhi excise “scam,” which was carried out with the help of AAP leaders, Delhi government ministers, and other individuals. In addition, the ED has claimed that the AAP used Rs 45 crore in “kickbacks” for the Goa assembly election campaign in 2022, out of the Rs 100 crore “bribe” given by the “South Group.”
Kavitha, Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, the TDP candidate for the Ongole Lok Sabha seat, his son Raghav Reddy, and other individuals are purportedly part of the ‘South Group’ liquor lobby.
