A Special Court has taken cognisance of a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Indospirit Group Managing Director Sameer Mahendru and four others in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case. The agency has so far detected alleged proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹2,873 crore.
Taking cognisance of the chargesheet, Special Judge M.K. Nagpal on Tuesday said that based on the contents of the complaint, statements of witnesses and other documentary evidence provided by the ED, it appeared that all the five named accused were found to have either directly or indirectly indulged in the activities related to the generation of the proceeds of crime or associated offences.
Among those named as accused in the chargesheet are Mr. Mahendru, Khao Gali Restaurants Private Limited, Bubbly Beverages Private Limited, Indo Spirits and Indospirit Distribution Limited.
The ED’s money laundering probe is based on a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation on August 17 against Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others. It has carried out 171 search operations in several States and arrested Mr. Mahendru, P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, Benoy Babu, Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally in connection with the case.
Based on the findings, the agency has alleged that the Expect Committee’s recommendations for the Excise Policy 2021-22 were modified as part of a conspiracy to “generate illegal funds”.
“The policy was formulated with deliberate loopholes, inbuilt mechanism to facilitate illegal activities and is marred with inconsistencies. It promoted cartel formations through back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale (12%) and huge retail profit margin of 185% and incentivised other illegal activities. The 12% profit margin to wholesalers was devised to extract a portion of it (about 6%) as a kickback to AAP leaders,” it alleged. The purported kickbacks were paid in advance.
According to the ED, the then AAP media promotion in-charge Vijay Nair, on behalf of the party leaders, received kickbacks to the tune of ₹100 crore from the ‘South Group’ whose prominent persons were Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, Raghav Magunta, Sarath Reddy and K. Kavitha.
In order to recover the money paid by the group, its partners were allegedly given 65% stakes in wholesale licensee Indo Spirits in collusion with Mr. Mahendru, as directed by Mr. Nair, the agency said in the chargesheet. It alleged that the group directly and indirectly controlled nine retail zones.
There was a loss of about ₹2,873 crore to the exchequer due to various reasons, including surrender of licence, waiver given on account of COVID-19, payment of only 75% licence fee, defaults by licensees, refund of security deposit and fixing of 12% profit margin for wholesalers, the ED alleged.
It also alleged that at least 36 accused persons/suspects destroyed or used 170 phones in order to evade detection. “The magnitude of the destruction is such that most accused, liquor barons, senior government officials, Excise Minister of Delhi and other suspects have changed their phones multiple times…,” the agency said, adding that the approximate value of devices used and destroyed were about ₹1.38 crore.
The chargesheet alleged that Mr. Mahendru, in his statement to the ED, had said that co-accused Arun Ramchandra Pillai was representing Ms. Kavitha’s interest.