Delhi Liquor Policy Case: Court Allows Probe Agency To Question Businessmen In Jail

The Rouse Avenue Court has permitted Enforcement Directorate (ED) to further quiz/record statements of Vijay Nair and Amit Arora in Judicial Custody in connection with the alleged Excise policy scam. Both are presently lodged in Tihar Jail.

Vijay Nair is the former communicator in charge of the Aam Aadmi Party. Nair was first arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation and later by the ED. Amit Arora Amit Arora is a director of Buddy Retail Pvt Limited.

ED on Tuesday got the court's permission to further record their statement on any two days of this week. The probe agency had approached the court and asked permission to examine the two.

ED counsel earlier told the court that on the basis of the investigation conducted so far indicating that Amit Arora is actually involved in the activity connected to the acquisition, possession and use of proceeds of crime and therefore, Amit Arora is guilty of the offence of money laundering.

ED had further alleged that Arora was involved in the activity connected to the use of proceeds of crime and was therefore allegedly involved in money laundering.

Vijay Nair recently before Delhi High Court, in his bail plea stated that he was only the media and communications in charge of AAP and was not involved in the drafting, framing or implementation of the excise policy in any manner and that he was "victimised" for his political affiliation.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its chargesheet (Prosecution Complaint) clearly stated that the PMLA investigation revealed that the Delhi Excise Policy, 2021-22 was a device created by the leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) some of who are part of Delhi Govt. to generate illegal funds.

It is stated in the chargesheet that, the policy was formulated with deliberate loopholes, an inbuilt mechanism to facilitate illegal activities and is marred with inconsistencies which when looked deeply, reflect malafide intentions of the policymakers.

ED further alleged that, Vijay Nair, in fact, has also arm-twisted a few wholesalers to surrender their licenses and then coerced the manufacturers surrendered through that license to choose the wholesalers of his choice and favour to direct the profit margins to those persons. On behalf of the leaders of AAP, Vijay Nair has received kickbacks to the tune of Rs. 100 Cr from a group, for convenience, we may call it the South Group (as termed in the statements of various persons recorded during the investigation), whose prominent persons are Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, Sh Raghav Magunta, Sarath Reddy and K Kavitha.

These kickbacks were paid in advance to the AAP leaders through Vijay Nair by the South Group as a part of an agreement between the South Group and the AAP leaders. Against the kickbacks paid, the. the south group secured uninhibited access, and undue favours, and attained stakes in. established wholesale businesses and multiple retail zones (over and above what was allowed in the policy). To recover/ recoup the kickbacks given by the South Group, partners of the South Group were given 65 per cent stakes in Indo Spirits in collusion with the accused Sameer Mahandru.

The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority's approval. The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.

The FIR in the case was instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.

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