The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday launched fresh searches at about 40 locations across the country as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy. The agency also questioned Delhi Minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain inside the Tihar jail in the money laundering probe linked to the excise policy scam.
The searches were conducted on the premises linked to liquor businessmen, distributors and supply chain networks in Nellore and some other cities in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi-NCR, officials said. The action started early morning with agency teams being escorted by police and paramilitary personnel at the locations being searched by them.
This is the second round of searches by the agency in this case after it first conducted searches on September 6 at about 40 locations across the country, including that of some Punjab Government Excise Department officers.
The policy implemented from November 17, 2021, was scrapped by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Government in July this year following Delhi LG VK Saxena’s recommendation for a CBI probe into its implementation.
Saxena had also suspended 11 excise officials in the matter.
The ED case of money laundering in the excise policy stems from a CBI FIR in which Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is the prime accused and some Delhi Government bureaucrats have also been named as accused. The CBI had conducted raids in the case on August 19, covering the Delhi residences of Sisodia (50), IAS officer and former Delhi Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, and 19 other locations across seven States and Union Territories.
Sisodia holds multiple portfolios, including Excise and Education, in the Kejriwal-led Delhi Government. Jain was arrested by the ED on May 30 in another criminal case filed under PMLA linked to alleged hawala dealings. On Friday, the ED recorded his statements under the PMLA.
The sources said the agency wants to know and understand from Jain about the Cabinet approvals given by the AAP Government for implementing the new excise policy as he had earlier held the Excise portfolio. The CBI enquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi Chief Secretary’s report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials said.
The Chief Secretary’s report had shown prima facie violations, including “deliberate and gross procedural lapses”, to provide post-tender “undue benefits to liquor licencees” through the policy, according to officials.
It is alleged that undue financial favours were extended to liquor licensees after the tenders were awarded, causing loss to the exchequer.
The Excise Department gave a waiver of Rs 144.36 crore to the licensees on the tendered licence fee citing Covid-19, reads the CBI FIR.
Responding to the latest action by the ED, Kejriwal claimed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED were “unnecessarily troubling everyone”, and that he still did not know what the liquor scam was all about.
Addressing a Press conference, Kejriwal said the Lieutenant Governor, CBI, and BJP have quoted varying amounts of money involved in the alleged liquor scam, but he didn’t understand what it was really about.
“Earlier, one BJP leader claimed it was fraud worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore.. Delhi’s total budget is Rs 70,000 crore. How can the scam be worth that amount? One of their (BJP) leaders says it is a scam of Rs 8,000 crore… some leaders claimed it was worth Rs 1,100, and the Lieutenant Governor says it is a scam of Rs 144 crore. The CBI in its FIR claimed the fraud was worth Rs one crore. I don’t understand what the liquor scam is. Can’t keep scaring people like this,” Kejriwal said while mocking the Opposition’s claims.
The CBI, during its searches at his deputy Sisodia’s residence, a search of his locker and inquiries at his village did not find even a penny of irregularities in the policy. “So, what is this scam?” he questioned.
“If the Centre does not do any positive work and keeps troubling and scaring everyone with CBI and ED, how will the country progress?” he asked. Kejriwal said the Centre is free to catch anyone if some wrong is done, but the progress of the country is hampered if it “unnecessarily” uses CBI and ED to “scare and threaten” everyone.
Kejriwal also advised the Centre to talk about positive things like schools and claimed 95 per cent Press conferences of his government were about such positive things.
