New Delhi [India]: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has authorized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This is in connection with their alleged involvement in the liquor scam case, official sources reported on Wednesday.
The sanction to prosecute the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders was granted earlier this month. This development pertains to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy for 2021-22.
The decision comes after both leaders were granted bail in the case. The Supreme Court had ordered regular bail for Kejriwal in September last year and for Sisodia in August, in relation to the alleged liquor policy scam.
A special PMLA court in Delhi had earlier postponed the framing of charges against Kejriwal, citing the absence of a specific sanction for prosecution under the PMLA.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has filed charges against Kejriwal under the Prevention of Corruption Act, received the necessary prosecution sanction in August last year.
This move follows the Supreme Court’s November 6 ruling, which mandated that the ED must obtain prior sanction under Section 197(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (now Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) for prosecuting money laundering cases, similar to the requirements for the CBI.
Kejriwal and the AAP have been accused of receiving bribes from the “South Group,” a cartel allegedly profiting from the 2021-22 Delhi excise policy. The ED claims the policy favored certain liquor traders in exchange for kickbacks.
So far, the ED has conducted searches at 245 locations across cities, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Mumbai, in connection with the case. Over a dozen individuals, including Kejriwal, Sisodia, and other AAP members like Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair, have been arrested.
The ED alleges that Kejriwal received a Rs 100 crore bribe, of which Rs 45 crore was allegedly funneled into AAP’s Goa election campaign. As the party’s national convenor, Kejriwal is accused of being responsible for managing funds and party operations.
The ED labeled Kejriwal the “brain” behind AAP, accusing him of leading policy decisions and demanding kickbacks. Witness testimonies have further implicated him in the excise policy’s irregularities. The agency claims to have identified proceeds of crime totaling Rs 1,100 crore.
Kejriwal, along with Sisodia and Vijay Nair, is accused of seeking additional funds beyond the initial bribe to finance election campaigns. The ED described Kejriwal as the “kingpin” behind the alleged scam.