The Enforcement Directorate on monday alleged that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha conspired with top leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia to get favours in the Delhi excise policy formulation and implementation. She also allegedly paid Rs. 100 crore to the AAP leaders in exchange for these favours.
The ED’s assertions come three days following the arrest of Kavitha, a Member of the Legislative Council in Telangana, in connection with the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy Scam. Kavitha, apprehended by an ED team on March 15, remains under ED’s custody until March 23 for interrogation. Her arrest stemmed from a search operation at her residence in Hyderabad on the same day.
During the search, ED officials reported facing obstruction from Kavitha’s relatives and associates. According to ED’s statement, their investigation uncovered a purported conspiracy involving Kavitha and others, collaborating with top AAP leaders such as Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, to gain advantages in the formulation and execution of Delhi’s Excise policy.
ED’s claim suggests that in return for these advantages, Kavitha allegedly facilitated a payment of Rs 100 crore to AAP leaders. This alleged corruption and conspiracy in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 purportedly led to illicit funds in the form of kickbacks from wholesalers to AAP, generating a continuous flow of illegal funds.
Furthermore, Kavitha and her associates were allegedly involved in recovering the crime proceeds paid to AAP in advance, as well as generating profits and additional crime proceeds through this scheme. So far, ED has conducted searches at 245 locations nationwide, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, and others.
A total of 15 individuals, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Vijay Nair from AAP, have been arrested in connection with this case. ED has filed one prosecution complaint and five supplementary complaints in this ongoing investigation.
