The Enforcement Directorate on July 6 arrested businessman Dinesh Arora in connection with its ongoing probe in the Delhi excise policy case, sources said.
The businessman was allegedly a close associate of Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is also an accused in the excise policy case and has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation .
Dinesh Arora has been declared an approver in the same case being investigated by the CBI. Considered close to jailed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia, Dinesh Arora is the 13th person to be arrested so far in the case by the Enforcement Directorate. Last year, a city court had allowed the CBI’s request to make Arora an approver in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate, in a supplementary charge sheet, has accused Manish Sisodia of receiving bribes from Amit Arora, another businessman also an accused in the case, through Dinesh Arora. The federal probe agency has described this bribe amount as “proceeds of crime” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“As elaborated… Amit Arora paid Rs 2.2 crore to Manish Sisodia through Dinesh Arora for getting policy changes in his favour in the GoM report/excise policy 2021-22. This amount is directly a bribe/kickback to a Government functionary and is proceeds of crime under section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, 2002. In this manner, Manish Sisodia participated in the generation of this proceeds of crime,” the Enforcement Directorate said in its prosecution complaint filed in May.
Amit Arora is the promoter of liquor companies Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, Popular Spirits and KSJM Spirits LLP.
The Enforcement Directorate has, so far, filed five charge sheets in the case, including against the former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister.
In 2022, the Enforcement Directorate had filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency said it has, so far, undertaken over 200 search operations in this case after filing FIR and taking cognisance of a CBI case, which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor.
The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary’s report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials said.
In October, the Enforcement Directorate had raided nearly three dozen locations in Delhi and Punjab following the arrest of Sameer Mahendru, managing director of Delhi’s Jor Bagh-based liquor distributor, Indospirit Group, in connection with the case and arrested him later.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, too, filed its first chargesheet in the case early this week.
The Enforcement Directorate and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced, and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval. The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.
Further, it was alleged that the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer.
The excise policy was scrapped after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the corruption allegation. Following this, the Enforcement Directorate registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
(with inputs from ANI)
