NEW DELHI: In a fresh disclosure, the Enforcement Directorate has claimed that the “south group”-controlled liquor cartel operating in the national capital had allegedly promised to pay Rs 200 crore in bribes to AAP functionaries before the controversial excise policy was scrapped last year.
According to the latest supplementary chargesheet filed by the ED, a deal was allegedly made between AAP leaders and the south group, of which Rs 100 crore was paid in advance to Vijay Nair, AAP’s former communication head who is apparently close to both Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia.
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And “after the recovery of an advance of Rs 100 crore by the south group, the remaining Rs 100 crore as and when collected, was to be divided between Vijay Nair (for AAP) and south group”, the ED said.
“This partnership between the south group and Vijay Nair was planned to continue for the remaining 3.5 years of the AAP’s rule in Delhi,” the ED has said in the chargesheet which has been taken cognisance by a special court here on Tuesday.
The agency has quoted from the recorded statements of one of the prime accused in the scam, Dinesh Arora, saying that “the excise policy was formulated with a 12% profit margin to L1. Out of this, 6% was to be given to Vijay Nair (for AAP govt). Keeping in view the total liquor business, the said 6% kickbacks amounts to nearly Rs 210 crore”.
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The south group gave Rs 100 crore in advance to Vijay Nair which they were supposed to recover from three major distributors — Indo Spirits, Brindco and Mahadev, the ED has said. Indo Spirits was directly in control of the south group and hence it was easy to recover this money, it said.
The agency has also named AAP senior leader Sanjay Singh having introduced one of the accused involved in the scam, Dinesh Arora, to Manish Sisodia. Quoting from his recorded statements, the ED said Arora has said that it was on “the request of Sanjay Singh that he spoke to many of the restaurant owners and arranged cheques amounting to Rs 82 lakh and handed over to Soisodia for collection of party funds of upcoming assembly elections in Delhi”.
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The ED has further said in its chargesheet that Arora was constantly getting work done from Sisodia related to the excise department and that he had also met Kejriwal once at his residence with Sanjay Singh.
Sanjay Singh had earlier denied any link to any of the accused in the scam or having any involvement with the excise policy and that the ED had wrongly mentioned his name.
