The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has received approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to prosecute former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This approval comes in connection with the alleged money laundering linked to the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22.
Kejriwal and AAP have been accused of receiving bribes from the ‘South Group,’ a cartel that controlled the sale and distribution of liquor in the national capital. The excise policy, which was later scrapped, allegedly benefitted this cartel. The ED’s chargesheet claims that Kejriwal acted in collusion with other AAP leaders and Delhi government officials to facilitate these irregularities.
The approval from the MHA follows a Supreme Court order requiring specific sanction for PMLA prosecution. The ED had sought this approval to proceed with the prosecution of Kejriwal and other public servants involved in the case. The agency has also moved several other requests to the MHA for sanctions under PMLA against politicians and senior IAS officers in various states.
Kejriwal had previously moved the Delhi High Court against the trial court’s cognizance of the chargesheet, arguing that the sanction secured by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was not sufficient for the ED to prosecute him. The Supreme Court’s November order clarified that the ED needed specific sanction from the competent authority for prosecution under PMLA.
The ED’s investigation into the excise policy case began after the Delhi Lieutenant Governor recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities. The CBI filed its chargesheet against Kejriwal under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the ED subsequently registered a case under PMLA.
Kejriwal, who was arrested by the ED in March 2024, has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in separate cases filed by the ED and CBI. The former chief minister has a plea pending before the Delhi High Court seeking the quashing of the trial court order that took cognizance of the ED chargesheet without prior sanction for his prosecution.
The ED’s approval to prosecute Kejriwal marks a significant development in the ongoing investigation into the Delhi excise policy case. The agency continues to pursue sanctions for other public servants involved in similar cases across the country.
