New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal was the “kingpin” and “key conspirator” in the 2021-22 excise policy “scam”, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said in its seventh supplementary chargesheet in the case.
It also said the GoM (Group of Ministers) constituted by his government in this context was a “sham” as revealed by statements of the excise officials who claimed that they were never consulted on any major policy decision”.
The excise case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.
Kejriwal was "knowingly involved in the use of proceeds of crime generated in the Goa election campaign of AAP" in 2022 and was "intrinsically and actually involved in the entire conspiracy" in the alleged scam, according to the charge sheet. It further alleged that the Delhi CM sought Rs 100 crore in kickbacks from the so-called South Group members for a liquor sales contract, of which Rs 45 crore was allegedly used to finance AAP’s Goa election campaign.
AAP responded to the ED chargesheet and said the BJP-led government at the Centre was hatching a “big conspiracy” against the party and that the political outfit was being finished off. Kejriwal is presently in judicial custody in both the ED’s money laundering case and the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) corruption case related to the now-scrapped excise policy.
