In a fresh trouble for Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, the Union Home Ministry has authorized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for his alleged involvement in money laundering related to the liquor scam case.
This comes ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, which are slated to be held on February 5.
: चुनाव से पहले मुश्किल में केजरीवाल, मनी लॉन्ड्रिंग मामले में ED को मिली केस चलाने की मंजूरी | — Zee News (@ZeeNews)
The Union Ministry’s decision to give a go-ahead to the probe agency comes after Delhi Lt. Governor VK Saxena had given his nod to prosecute the former Delhi CM in the case.
In an order last November, the Supreme Court had stated that the ED has to take prior sanction before prosecuting public servants.
Later, the probe agency wrote to Saxena, claiming that granting of a sanction should be given since Kejriwal was the “kingpin and key conspirator” of the scam. The AAP national convener approached the Delhi High Court, saying that the chargesheet filed by the probe agency against him and others in the case was illegal because no prior sanction of authorities was taken before filing the prosecution complaint.
The Delhi liquor policy case against the AAP suprmo centres on accusations of irregularities in the formulation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. According to the allegations levelled against Kejriwal, he, along with other AAP leaders, intentionally created loopholes in the policy to receive kickbacks from liquor lobbyists.
He was first arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024, in connection to the money laundering case. Later, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Kejriwal on June 26, 2024, in a corruption case.
In last September, the apex court had granted bail to the AAP chief. Just days after he was granted bail, Kejriwal stepped down as the Chief Minister of Delhi, paving the way for senior AAP leader Atishi to occupy the top post.
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