The ED claimed kn its complaint that Pawan Khatri received Rs 5 crore as bribe.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against a senior official of the Enforcement Directorate and the chief of a hotel chain, in connection with the ongoing investigation in the Delhi liquor scam. The case names Pawan Khatri, Assistant Director of the ED, Vikramaditya Singh, the chief of a popular hotel chain, and Deepak Sangwan -- an employee of Air India.
The ED is probing the Delhi liquor policy money laundering case involving former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others, in which Amandeep Singh Dhall is also an accused. He was arrested by the agency earlier this year.
The ED has claimed Pawan Khatri, and Nitesh Kohar, a clerk in the ED, had allegedly received Rs 5 crore as bribe through conduits to help Amandeep Singh Dhall.
According to the complaint, Dhall and his father Birender Pal Singh informed ED officials that they have given Rs 5 crore to Praveen Vats, a Chartered Accountant, between December 2022 and January 2023 to "arrange help" in the ED investigation in the case against Dhall.
In its complaint to the CBI dated August 7, the ED said Praveen Vats and Deepak Sangwan, the Air India employee, had taken Rs 5 crore from Dhall on the pretext of helping him in the liquor policy money laundering case through Pawan Khatri.
"Vats stated that of the amount received from Dhall, 50 lakhs was given to Sangwan and Khatri as advance as demanded by them in mid-December," the agency alleged in its complaint.
As Dhall was arrested in March this year, his father demanded a refund. On June 29, Rs 1 crore was returned to him in the presence of Khatri, as stated by Vats.
In his statement, Vikramaditya Singh has said that Aman Dhall had approached him for help and he had asked Vats to help him. Vats had told him that "after deducting expenses with ED officials and other expenses, remaining amount will be divided between them equally," the ED's complaint read.
Following the complaint, the CBI registered a corruption case against Khatri, Kohar, Sangwan, Vats, Vikramaditya Singh, Amandeep Singh Dhall and BP Singh for allegedly influencing ED's investigation in Delhi liquor policy case through bribes.