Excise policy was vehicle of corruption for top AAP leadership, claim investigators

New Delhi: The CBI and Enforcement Directorate investigators looking into criminalities and money laundering in the implementation of the now scrapped excise policy of Delhi allege that the Delhi Excise Policy, 2021-22 was created by the top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to “continuously generate and channel illegal funds to themselves”.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested on Sunday night in the case, a move the AAP termed as a political vendetta.

But investigators allege that the policy promoted cartel formations through back door, awarded an exorbitant wholesale profit margin at the rate of 12 per cent and a huge retail profit margin of 185 per cent and incentivised other illegal activities on account of criminal conspiracy by the top leaders of AAP to extract kickbacks from the businesses.

According to the Enforcement Directorate chargesheet, C. Arvind, who is a DANICS officer and secretary to Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia, in his statement on December 7, last year said the draft Group of Ministers or GoM (formed for the new excise policy) report was given to him in the mid of March 2021 when he was called by Sisodia to the residence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Arvind allegedly told the investigators that there was neither any discussion in the GoM meetings about giving wholesale to private entities nor fixing a 12 per cent profit margin for them.

He further stated that it was the first time that he saw these proposals in the draft GoM report (the document handed over to him) and he was directed to prepare the report on the basis of the said document.

Investigators allege that the policy framework, where one manufacturer could only choose one wholesaler, gave the manufacturers a very critical position to decide the profits of the wholesale businesses. 

Though the manufacturers seemingly were supposed to take this crucial decision on their own as per their choice, this investigation revealed that Pernod Ricard, one of the accused companies, which is also one of the biggest manufacturers in the country, was in fact directed by key conspirator Vijay Nair to give their wholesale distribution business to another accused company Indo Spirits, which is a part of the “super cartel” benefitted from the excise policy. Another accused Sameer Mahandru controls and owns Indo Spirits.

ED investigators say Vijay Nair is not an ordinary worker of the AAP but allegedly a close associate of CM Arvind Kejriwal and he closely interacted with Sisodia on excise policy matters.

Nair told investigators that he functions from the camp office of Kejriwal and since 2020, has been residing in the Govt bungalow allotted to Delhi Cabinet Minister Kailash Gehlot. Nair does not have any other residence in Delhi and Gehlot lives at his private residence.

ED alleged that Nair had arranged a meeting of the owner/controller of Indo Spirits, Sameer Mahandru, with Arvind Kejriwal but that didn’t materialise and then he arranged a video call through Facetime on his phone for Mahandru and Kejriwal in which the Delhi CM told Mahandru that Vijay was “his boy” and also that Vijay can be trusted.

Investigators said Vijay Nair was in charge of Media and Communication for the AAP and had no role in the Delhi government, but he in fact acted as a broker/liaison/middleman on behalf of the top leaders of the AAP for getting bribes/kickbacks from various stakeholders in the Delhi Liquor business in exchange of favourable outcomes (policy changes) in the Excise Policy of 2021-22, which was being drafted at that time.