ED issues another summons to Kejriwal for tomorrow in Delhi Jal Board money laundering case

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued another summons to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal for tomorrow in connection with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) money laundering probe, sources said on Sunday.

The summons was issued to Kejriwal on Saturday evening under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of ED's ongoing probe into the illegal tendering in DJB and the laundering of alleged proceeds of crime.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Minister Atishi claimed on Sunday that the case is 'fake', adding that the party is not aware of the case registered by the ED in this matter.

"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal received another summons yesterday evening by the ED...They have asked him to join some investigations related to the Delhi Jal Board. We are unaware of the case registered by the ED in this matter," she said.

In February this year, ED arrested a retired chief engineer, Jagdish Kumar Arora, and a contractor, Anil Kumar Aggarwal, in connection with its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the tendering process of the DJB.

ED is investigating two separate matters of irregularities in the tendering process of the DJB, and its criminal case stems from an FIR of the CBI and from the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government.

The CBI FIR alleged that officials of the DJB gave "undue advantage" to NKG Infrastructure Limited while awarding the tender to the company for supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of electro-magnetic flow metres in connivance with officials of NBCC (lndia) Limited.

The second allegation pertains to the ACB complaint of November 2022, where it was stated that DJB awarded a tender for setting up automotive bill payment collection machines (kiosks) in its different offices to facilitate consumers in bill payment.

Besides this summons, ED has also issued a ninth summons to Kejriwal in a money laundering probe related to irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case asking him to join the investigation on March 21.

ED's two fresh moves were taken after Kejriwal first time appeared before the city's Rouse Avenue Court physically in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case as the agency earlier filed two complaints against him in the court complaining for disobeying their summonses to join the probe in the Delhi excise policy case.

The court later granted him bail in the case filed by the agency for skipping its summonses. Kejriwal got bail on a bail bond of Rs 15,000 in the case of complaints filed by ED. He is on bail and has been asked by the court to respond to the ED summons and obey the law.

The court directed the Dehi Chief Minister that following the law is appropriate for a person who has taken the oath of the Constitution Kejriwal has so far skipped eight previous summons issued by the ED in the Delhi Excise Policy case on March 4, February 26, February 19, February 2, January 18, January 3, November 2 and December 22, calling them "illegal and politically motivated".

The ED wants to record Kejriwal's statement in the case on issues like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalised, and allegations of bribery.