The Enforcement Directorate, probing alleged money laundering in a case related to the Delhi government’s liquor policy, told a special Delhi court on Wednesday that AAP’s communication in-charge Vijay Nair received at least Rs 100 crore on behalf of AAP.
In August this year, BJP leaders Parvesh Verma and Manjinder Singh Sirsa had alleged that Kavitha, daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and member of the Legislative Council, had a role in facilitating the Delhi liquor policy. Kavita denied the allegation and said that she would file a defamation suit. Kavita was not available for comment after the ED named the South group and the persons controlling it in papers filed in the special court on Wednesday.
The ED told the court that its probe revealed that the Delhi Excise Policy (2021-22) was a “ploy” made by AAP leaders, including some people in the Delhi government, to generate illegal money at the cost of the exchequer. were involved.
The ED case registered in September is based on a CBI FIR lodged in August.
Advocate Samudra Sarangi, who represented Nair in the trial court, declined to comment on the ED’s claims.
In a remand application following the arrest of Amit Arora, director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, Gurgaon, the ED told the court that the Delhi Excise Policy was framed with “deliberate loopholes”, “built-in mechanism to facilitate illegal activities” .
The ED said, “This policy…in fact…promoted cartel formations through backdoor, provided exorbitant wholesale (12%) and huge retail (185%) profit margins and encouraged other illegal activities.” “
Investigating Officer, Assistant Director Jogendra said that half of the 12% profit margin to the wholesalers was prepared to extort AAP leaders as bribe.
“As per the investigation conducted so far, Vijay Nair has received a bribe of at least Rs 100 crore on behalf of AAP leaders called South Group, controlled by Sarath Reddy, K Kavitha, Magunta Srinivasu Reddy. Is. , by various persons including Amit Arora. Arrested Arora has disclosed this in his statement.
According to the IO, Nair, along with Dinesh Arora and Amit Arora, forced some wholesalers to surrender their L-1 licenses and then forced manufacturers to choose wholesalers of their choice and direct profit margins to persons of choice. Forced to ,
“Due to the conspiracy, the government suffered a loss of 12% of revenue – Rs 581 crore which it would have received had the government accepted the recommendations of the expert committee, which was entrusted to private players only to fill in the subject policy. AAP leaders This loss to the exchequer was actually illegally diverted into dummy profits of the wholesalers, which was used to offset the bribes paid in advance by the ‘South Group’,” the IO said. Told.
Earlier this month, while granting bail to Nair and Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinapalli, a Delhi court observed that there was no evidence, other than oral, to show the transfer of huge amounts of money allegedly by the CBI.
It said that “the oral evidence will have to be examined during the trial and it will be only a matter of time whether it turns into an admissible piece of evidence which can be dealt with by this Court”.