The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the Delhi excise policy case, has arrested Chanpreet Singh, who allegedly 'managed' cash funds for AAP's campaign in the 2022 Goa Assembly polls. The ED claims that money taken as a bribe in the excise policy scam was used by the AAP in Goa.
News agency PTI, citing sources, reported that Singh was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on April 12 and was produced before a special court the next day. He has been sent to the ED custody till April 18. This is the 17th arrest in the case by the ED.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his party colleague and former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K Kavitha and a number of liquor businessmen and others have been arrested so far by the federal agency. Singh was earlier arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) too in the same case.
The ED has informed the court through its official documents that Chanpreet Singh "managed" cash payments for the campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during the 2022 Goa elections and had a "relationship" with the political outfit that rules Delhi currently.
The agency has claimed that the 'South Group'-- comprising Kavitha, politician Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Magunta, businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy and others -- paid Rs 100 crore bribe to the AAP for obtaining a prime position in the Delhi liquor market as part of the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
Out of these alleged kickbacks, according to the ED, Rs 45 crore was used by the AAP to fund its Goa election campaign. The ED has also claimed that cash payments were made to survey workers, area managers, assembly managers, and others in Goa who were engaged in election campaign activities of the AAP and these people told the agency that this was "managed" by a person named Chanpreet Singh.
The agency also said that an employee of an 'Angadia' firm, which allegedly moved cash funds illegally, had "admitted" to disbursing huge amounts of cash in Goa to some people including Singh, who used to work for Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd. Chariot Productions was the company engaged by the AAP for its Goa poll campaign.
The company's director, Rajesh Joshi, was arrested in the case by the ED last year. The ED had alleged that Singh collected more than Rs 17 crore (Rs 17,38,14,500 in total) in over 18 instances from the 'Angadia' company employee between August 2021-January 2022, and this was "also corroborated" by CDR (call data records of mobile phone) analysis.
As per the ED, Singh "received salary from the Aam Aadmi Party" in February 2022 and also received salary from a company called Wizspk Communications and PR Ltd, which was engaged by the Delhi government. Moreover, the ED claimed that he had also received funds from OML (Only Much Louder) events management company of arrested AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair, and "these facts are prima facie reflective of his relationship with the Aam Aadmi Party".
(With inputs from PTI)