The probe into the multi-crore Andhra Pradesh liquor scam has widened dramatically, uncovering disturbing links across States and media entities.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to investigate the scandal, has unearthed digital evidence pointing to the movement of unaccounted cash and a well-oiled nexus between liquor companies, political operatives and media platforms spanning Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi.
In a major breakthrough, investigators recovered a video showing a close aide of a former legislator counting bundles of high-denomination currency-allegedly part of kickbacks paid by liquor companies.
The footage, sourced from a seized mobile device, adds to the growing stack of incriminating material pointing to systemic cash-for-favour practices prevalent in the liquor trade. What’s more alarming, according to SIT sources, is the pattern of financial routes echoing those seen in the now-infamous Delhi liquor scam.
Funds were reportedly routed through defunct or compromised media companies under the guise of consultancy payments.
Shell accounts, hard cash exchanges and hawala networks served as conduits for illicit payments, with proceeds being diverted into real estate and luxury assets. The SIT is also scrutinising the operations of now-closed Delhi-based media channels and affiliated entities that allegedly acted as laundering fronts. Notably, some of these institutions had earlier been flagged during central agency probes into the Delhi liquor scam.
Similar methods and actors seem to recur in the Andhra case, strengthening the possibility of a coordinated inter-State racket active between 2022 and 2023.
Officials have confirmed that findings from the ongoing AP investigation are being shared with the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana, given the overlapping actors and financial footprints. The pattern of siphoning public money through dubious media consultancy contracts, often using politically-connected channels, is now under the national scanner.
Courts & Public Institutions Under Pressure
The slow pace of progress in these high-profile scams has not escaped judicial scrutiny. The Supreme Court, in recent months, has strongly criticised investigative agencies like the ED and CBI for selective prosecution and tardiness in major corruption probes. Critics argue that while lower-level operatives face quick arrests, the masterminds-often with political or corporate shielding-continue to evade decisive action.
The overlapping trails between the Delhi and Andhra liquor scams expose not just isolated episodes of wrongdoing but an entrenched ecosystem where alcohol excise is used as a cash cow by multiple State Governments. With vast revenues at stake, regulatory frameworks are routinely subverted, and institutions manipulated-leading to a collapse of trust in the integrity of public systems.
Liquor Trade: India’s Most Lucrative Corruption Channel?
Excise from liquor remains one of the largest sources of revenue for Indian states, second only to GST collections in many cases. This dependence has turned alcohol policy into a grey zone-rife with opaque tendering, underhanded distribution networks, and bribery-driven licensing. From Delhi to Andhra to Maharashtra, liquor has evolved into a potent vehicle for black money generation, often under the cover of legitimate government revenue streams.
With mounting public outcry and multiple scams now spanning several states, experts and public interest litigators have demanded a nationwide judicial commission to examine the structural faults in liquor excise systems and recommend safeguards to prevent further abuse.
The SIT’s unfolding revelations may be only the tip of the iceberg-but they have made one thing clear: India’s liquor economy is not just a fiscal tool. It is a political minefield, a corruption hotspot, and a ticking legal time bomb.