Liquor policy formulation filled AAP coffers? ED arms itself with evidence to question Kejriwal

As the Enforcement Directorate (ED) prepares to question Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, all eyes are on the material evidence, confessional statements of accused and even approvers that can shed light on the alleged role of CM and his office. These will hold the key to the money laundering probe in the formulation and execution of the now defunct Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.

ED is likely to question Kejriwal on the meetings and activities held at CM’s camp office, said sources. Among others include private meetings with some of the accused, communications with some of them who entered the liquor trade, which the ED claims points towards the direct role of the CM’s office as well as involvement of other party functionaries.

The sleuths have a bunch of questions ready. Firstly, one of the accused Vijay Nair, staying in a house next to the Delhi CM’s office, was allegedly holding meetings with liquor industry players, including the ‘south group’. He was also handling the social media handles and ads for the AAP party and Delhi government.

The money trail from the alleged liquor scam to the coffers of the AAP, which was preparing for the Goa polls, is a matter of investigation by the ED where the role of Nair becomes crucial. But even before the ED questions Kejriwal on Nair’s activities in the CM office, the agency may question him on the formulation of the liquor policy, where the role of another jailed AAP leader and former deputy CM Manish Sisodia comes in.

This second key link to the CM that goes back to March 2021 when a meeting was allegedly held at the CM’s residence where a draft was handed over by Sisodia to his secretary proposing that the wholesale should go to private entities, despite the proposal finding no mention in the meeting of the group of ministers, according to the ED sources.

Thirdly, when the Delhi court sent AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to ED custody and subsequently to jail earlier this month, the ED told the court that it had evidence of quid pro quo, where known associates of Singh and Sisodia got stakes in the companies that benefited from the liquor policy. According to ED, illegal gains were made by the leader that got diverted to party funds, some of which purportedly was election fund.

The kickbacks, if proved, can mount trouble for Kejriwal and AAP, as the questioning is likely to follow the entire chain of events from the drafting of the policy by the GoM to the coffers of AAP led by Kejriwal.

The case can open a can of worms for other political leaders as well as the entire Delhi liquor scam rests on the alleged conspiracy of the “south group’’ with the AAP leaders, where a sum of Rs 100 crore was allegedly paid upfront which promoted cartelisation and monopoly at wholesale with 12 per cent profit for wholesalers, according to sources. Based on these findings, Kejriwal may be asked about the role of other political functionaries, already under scanner for allegedly using proxies, dummies and a web of exchanges to conceal transactions.

The AAP has denied all allegations and upped its tirade against the BJP accusing it of trying to ‘’finish off’’ the ruling party in Delhi by sending top leaders to jail.