ED Names Manish Sisodia As Accused In Delhi Liquor Policy Scam For The First Time

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a new chargesheet in the money laundering case involving the Delhi Excise Policy. According to reports, the chargesheet for the first time accuses AAP politician and former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia for the first time.

It may be recalled that 51-year old AAP leader was arrested by the ED in this case on 9 March from Tihar Jail and he is currently in judicial custody. He was first arrested by the CBI, which is also probing this case.

The ED has submitted this charge sheet or prosecution complaint to a specially designated Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi as the fourth supplementary and overall fifth charge sheet or complaint in the case.

As per reports, the charge sheet has 270 pages and annexures running into 2,000 pages.

The agency has called Sisodia a “key conspirator” in this case. 

In earlier charge sheets, it was alleged that the so-called "South Group," which included BRS leader K Kavitha, YSR Congress MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and others, "used" proxies and dummies to conceal their involvement in the liquor policy "scam."

In an earlier charge sheet, the agency had claimed, “On one hand it is Manish Sisodia and other top leaders of AAP and Vijay Nair who was working under the overall guidance and sanction of Manish Sisodia.” 

The ED had commented, “The scam initiated with the drafting of the excise policy of 2021-22 by the AAP leaders, specifically by Manish Sisodia with an objective of generating illegal funds followed by a nexus/understanding between key players of the South Group and Manish Sisodia and thereafter managed by Vijay Nair, who is a representative of AAP, payment of advance kickbacks from the former to the latter in exchange of undue favours.”