ED apprehends guy who’managed’ AAP’s Goa electoral finances; party alleges excise investigation was politically motivated

In connection with the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, the Enforcement Directorate has detained Chanpreet Singh, who was reportedly in charge of managing cash funds for the AAP’s campaign in the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, according to official sources on Monday.

The Aam Aadmi Party said the ED was conducting a “politically motivated” investigation and that it had failed to uncover any proof or retrieve a single penny.

According to the sources, Singh was arrested on April 12 in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and appeared before a special court in this city the following day.

The court stated that he was placed in ED custody until April 18.

The ED has made 17 arrests in this investigation. The federal agency had already detained Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his party colleague and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, BRS leader K Kavitha, many liquor traders, and others.

In a related case, Singh was previously detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The CBI FIR is what gave rise to the money laundering case.

Through official papers, the ED has told the court that Chanpreet Singh “managed” cash payments for the AAP’s campaign in the 2022 Goa elections and had a “relationship” with the present ruling party in Delhi.

The agency claims that the ‘South Group’, which includes Sarath Chandra Reddy, businessman Kavitha, TDP candidate Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy from the Ongole Lok Sabha seat, his son Raghav Magunta, and others, paid the AAP a bribe of Rs 100 crore to secure a prominent spot in the Delhi liquor market as part of the now-cancelled excise policy for 2021–2022.

The AAP allegedly utilized Rs 45 crore of these alleged payments to finance its Goa election campaign.

According to the ED, cash payments were sent to survey workers, area managers, assembly managers, and other AAP members in Goa who were involved in the party’s election campaign. These individuals informed the agency that Chanpreet Singh was “managing” the payments.

Additionally, it claimed that a worker for a company called “Angadia,” which was accused of transferring cash payments unlawfully, had “admitted” to giving large sums of money to a number of individuals in Goa, including Singh, a former employee of Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd.

The AAP hired Chariot Productions to handle its Goa election campaign. Rajesh Joshi, the company’s director, was detained by the ED in connection with the case last year.

The Employment Department (ED) had claimed that Singh had taken more than Rs 17 crore (Rs 17,38,14,500 total) in more than eighteen times from the ‘Angadia’ firm employee between August 2021 and January 2022. The CDR (call data records of mobile phone) analysis “also corroborated” this.

According to the report, Singh “received a salary from the Aam Aadmi Party” in February 2022 in addition to payment from the Delhi government-affiliated Wizspk Communications and PR Ltd.

Moreover, the ED said that “these facts are prima facie reflective of his relationship with the Aam Aadmi Party” and that he had also received money from the OML (Only Much Louder) events management firm of AAP communications chief Vijay Nair, who was detained.

In a statement, the AAP stated that since the ED began its probe and detained scheme mastermind Sarath Reddy, who subsequently sent Rs 55 crore of his illicit gains to the BJP via electoral bonds, the whole nation is aware that “the real Delhi liquor scam” had occurred.

It claimed that not a single rupee or piece of evidence had been retrieved from AAP leaders after two years of inquiry and more than 500 raids.

“The ED is running a politically motivated investigation and making its case solely based on statements of approvers, many of whom like Sarath Reddy have a direct connection with the BJP,” the party said.

In a similar incident, the Supreme Court denied Kejriwal any temporary reprieve on Monday. The court had asked the ED to respond to Kejriwal’s motion contesting his detention in the money laundering case by April 24.

The excise case concerns allegations of money laundering and corruption during the development and implementation of the excise policy for 2021–2022 by the Delhi government, which was subsequently abandoned.

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi V K Saxena suggested that the CBI look into the purported anomalies in the creation and application of the alcohol policy. Following that, the ED filed a PMLA complaint.