Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor, VK Saxena, has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take legal action against Arvind Kejriwal, the head of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former Chief Minister. This decision comes just before the Delhi assembly elections.
On December 5, the ED asked for permission to prosecute Kejriwal after finding evidence of serious corruption related to the excise policy, which is about how liquor is sold in Delhi. They detailed their findings in a complaint submitted to a court earlier this year.
The ED claims that Kejriwal worked with a group called the South Group to receive Rs 100 crore (about $13 million) and gave unfair advantages to certain private businesses by creating a liquor policy just for them. They allege that this group was favored in several liquor shops and even allowed to manage multiple sales areas, breaking the rules designed for the Excise Policy 2021-22.
The agency also accuses Kejriwal of using around Rs 45 crore earned from criminal activities to fund AAP’s campaign in the Goa elections, showing he knew about this money. The ED states that AAP was the main recipient of these illegal funds and that Kejriwal, as a leader in the party, was responsible for handling them.
According to the ED, Kejriwal tried to hide this money by using illegal cash transfers, which is linked to money laundering defined by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
In July 2022, Saxena recommended that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) look into issues with how the Delhi Excise Policy was made and applied. Kejriwal was arrested in March this year on money laundering charges but was granted bail by the Supreme Court in September.
Leave a Reply