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ED names former Delhi deputy CM in fifth excise case charge sheet
The federal agency has been investigating the case registered in relation with a predicate offence case filed by CBI regarding the irregularities in framing and implementation of the policy
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed its first charge sheet naming former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia as an accused, in a money laundering case stemming from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the now-scrapped Delhi liquor excise policy 2021-22.
The federal agency has been investigating the case registered in relation with a predicate offence case filed by CBI regarding the irregularities in framing and implementation of the policy.
Sisodia, officials said, has been charged under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This is ED’s fifth charge sheet in the case – the previous four charge sheets were filed on November 26, 2022, January 6, 2023, April 6, 2023, and April 27, 2023 against 28 individuals and entities.
CBI arrested Sisodia on February 26. The ED took him into custody on March 9 after quizzing in Tihar Jail for approximately eight hours. He was sent to seven days’ ED custody on March 10, which was later extended by five days, before he was sent to back to Tihar on March 22.
Last month, CBI filed a charge sheet for corruption and criminal conspiracy against Sisodia, calling him the architect of the excise policy, and alleging the irregularities involved kickbacks to the tune of ₹90-100 crore.
ED’s latest charge sheet is 271 pages long. The federal agency has previously said that the excise policy, specifically brought by Sisodia, promoted cartel formations through the back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale profit margins of 12% and “incentivised” other illegal activities as part of a criminal conspiracy by Sisodia and other leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to extract kickbacks from liquor businesses.
According to ED’s court documents and previous charge sheets seen by HT, “the Delhi excise policy was brought in by the leadership of AAP, specifically by Manish Sisodia to continuously generate and channel illegal funds to themselves.”
“The policy promoted cartel formations through the back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale (12%) and huge retail profit margin of 185% and incentivised other illegal activities on account of criminal conspiracy by Manish Sisodia and other leaders of the AAP to extract kickbacks from the liquor businesses,” ED said in its April 27 charge sheet.
ED also alleged that since Sisodia was the excise minister, and the head of a Group of Ministers (GoM) handling the issue, he played a key role in modifying and implementing the policy without deliberations by GoM.
Citing statements of Sisodia’s former secretary C Arvind, ED said that “the conspiracy of the Group of Ministers (headed by Sisodia) to give wholesale business to private entities and fix 12% margin (to get 6% kickback out from the same) is clear from the statement of C Arvind wherein he disclosed that there was neither any discussion in the GoM meetings about giving wholesale to private entities nor fixing 12% profit margin for them.”
The excise policy scam, according to ED, has “multiple branches which involved numerous business entities, persons, groups, key government functionaries and number of middlemen”.
“The scam included a conspiracy hatched by government functionaries and political leadership cutting across states and payment of bribes to get undue favours. The scam initiated with the drafting of the excise policy with an objective of generating illegal funds. Followed by a nexus/understanding between key players of the South Group and Vijay Nair (AAP’s former communications in-charge), of payment of advance kickbacks from the former to the latter in exchange of undue favours,” ED said.
The agency alleged that the excise policy was formed “in secrecy” and “in collusion with the major beneficiaries”.
“To cover the conspiracy and to provide legitimacy to their hidden agenda, Sisodia even went to the extent of planting mails which furthered his agenda and the changes he wanted to make in the policy which reflects his mala fide intention,” ED said in its last charge sheet filed on April 27.
Sisodia has denied all charges and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has termed the issue a politically motivated witch hunt.
The charge sheet is to be taken up for further hearing on May 6.
Sisodia is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in judicial custody. The court had earlier denied him bail in the CBI as well as the ED cases. Sisodia has challenged the orders before the Delhi high court.
The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business. It aimed to replace a sales-volume based regime with a license fee based 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 Delhi’s lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending a probe into 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.
