ED files charge sheet against Vijay Nair, 4 others in Delhi excise policy scam

This is the second charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi excise policy scam case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a charge sheet against five individuals, including the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) communications in-charge Vijay Nair, and seven companies before a court in Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe into the alleged irregularities in the suspended Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, people familiar with the development said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) communications in-charge Vijay Nair. (File Photo)

The other four individuals are Abhishek Boinpally, an alleged consultant, Aurobindo Pharma’s promoter P Sarath Chandra Reddy, Pernod Ricard’s manager Benoy Babu and owner of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, Amit Arora.

This is the second charge sheet filed by the agency in the same case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In its first charge sheet filed on November 26 last year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in which only businessman Sameer Mahendru and his firms were named, the federal agency had claimed that Mahendru had formed a ‘super cartel’ with the alleged ‘South Group’ to control nine out of 32 retail zones in Delhi’s liquor business.

The agency had also termed Vijay Nair as the one who “orchestrated the entire scam”, while alleging that he received advance kickbacks worth ₹100 crore from the alleged ‘South Group’, comprising Andhra Pradesh member of Parliament (MP) and YSR Congress leader Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Magunta, Telangana MLC and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader Kalvakuntla Kavitha, who is the daughter of Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, and businessman Sarath Reddy, the promoter of Aurobindo Group.

Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has been named as the primary accused both by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case. However, ED is yet to question him and officials familiar with the probe said he is likely to be called for questioning soon.

All those named by the ED have denied the allegations against them. The ED has pegged the loss in the entire scam to be worth ₹2,873 crore.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s liquor business. It aimed to replace a sales-volume based regime with a license fee one for traders, and promised swankier stores, free of the infamous metal grilles, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience. The policy also introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor, a first for Delhi.

The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime, with the AAP alleging that Saxena’s predecessor sabotaged the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.