Delhi liquor scam: ED summons 2 associates of Sanjay Singh for questioning

NEW DELHI: A day after a Delhi court sent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to five-day ED custody, the financial probe agency has summoned his alleged close associates Vivek Tyagi and Sarvesh Mishra for questioning.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sources, the agency has asked the duo to appear before it on Friday at its headquarters. While seeking Singh's custody on Thursday, the ED informed the court that Mishra had received Rs 1 crore on behalf of the AAP leader regarding excise policy.

In its remand note, the probe agency said that Singh has received proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 2 crore in the alleged Delhi liquor scam. "It is evident that businessman Dinesh Arora had collected Rs 3 crore bribe from Sameer Mahandru during August-October 2021, on the directions of AAP's communication in charge Vijay Nair.

"Nair was facilitating granting of Pernod Ricard's wholesale business to Mahandru's entity. Investigation further revealed that out of this amount, Rs 1 crore was given to Mishra (Sanjay Singh's person) on the directions of Nair," the ED alleged.

"This amount was delivered to Singh's house by an employee of Arora. Further, Arora had received Rs 4 crore from Abhishek Boinpally in March-April 2022 on the instructions of Nair. "Out of Rs 4 crore, Rs 2 crore cash was collected by Harinder Singh from Boinpally's office in Defence colony.

Out of this amount, Rs 1 crore cash was given to Mishra (Sanjay Singh's person), delivered by an employee of Arora at the AAP RS MP's house," it said.

ED probe also revealed that he had given Rs 2 crore in cash at Singh's house on two occasions (Rs 1 crore at each time). He has revealed that he had also picked up Rs 1 crore in cash from the office of Indo Spirits in Okhla, the agency claimed.

The facts are corroborated by the CDR location of an employee of Arora, who had communicated with Mishra, the same day he had visited Singh's house.

Further, it said that in respect of first incident of Rs 1 crore given to Singh, Arora took Rs 3 crore from Sameer Mahandru in August-October 2021 on the instructions of Nair for Goa elections and Mahandru had given Arora the said money as Nair had got him the license of Pernod Ricard.

Mahandru spoke to Nair on his facetime, the ED claimed. It is likely that both the associates will be confronted with Sanjay Singh during the questioning on Friday. The ED had carried out searches at the premises of Mishra and Tyagi in May this year.

Singh was arrested on Wednesday by the ED after day-long searches at his premises. He was produced before a court on Thursday, which sent him to five days of ED custody till October 10. The AAP has denied the allegations and dubbed the agency's action as vendetta politics.

The ED case of money laundering is based on the CBI FIR filed in August last year. The ED had earlier arrested former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the now scrapped excise policy case.