Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal To Face ED For Fourth Time In Money Laundering Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning for the fourth time. The summons requires his appearance before the investigative agency on January 18. This development follows Kejriwal's non-compliance with an interrogation scheduled for January 3, wherein he contended that the ED's summonses were illegitimate, asserting that the sole intention behind them was his arrest.

Kejriwal had previously evaded the ED's third summons, denouncing them as "illegal" and alleging that the agency's primary intent was to arrest him, hindering his participation in election campaigning.

The ED aims to interrogate Kejriwal on the policy formulation, pre-finalization meetings, and allegations of bribery. Despite two earlier summonses on November 2 and December 22, both dismissed by Kejriwal as "illegal and politically motivated," he remained absent.

In the charge sheet filed on December 2, 2023, the ED implicated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh and his associate Sarvesh Mishra, claiming that the AAP utilized kickbacks amounting to Rs 45 crore from the policy to fund its campaign for the Goa assembly elections in 2022. This marks the first instance where the ED explicitly labels the AAP as a direct beneficiary and specifies the purported kickback amount. The agency contends that a total of Rs 100 crore in bribes were paid to AAP leaders concerning the excise policy.

The charge sheet also alleges personal benefits from the proceeds of crime to certain AAP leaders, citing bribes linked to jailed AAP leader Manish Sisodia, former AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair, and Sanjay Singh.

The ED asserts that the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 was part of a conspiracy by AAP leaders to generate and channel illegal funds for personal and party gain. In an earlier charge sheet, the ED claimed that the excise policy was Kejriwal's "brainchild." Kejriwal's involvement in meetings, commissions for private players, and the entry of political and business figures from the south into Delhi's liquor business have been highlighted in remand papers.

With six charge sheets filed so far in the excise policy probe against 31 individuals and entities, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, both currently in Tihar jail, the ED continues its financial crimes investigation. The excise policy aimed at revamping Delhi's liquor business was later scrapped due to alleged irregularities, prompting an inquiry ordered by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. The ED contends that the AAP utilized a portion of the Rs 100 crore kickbacks from the policy during its campaigns for the 2022 Goa assembly elections, estimating the losses in policy irregularities at Rs 2,873 crore.