Suspicions raised further when Kejriwal skipped all 9 summonses, ED notes in plea for Kejriwal's further custody

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate, in its application for further custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case, said that his ignoring of repeated summonses of the agency also led to an additional inference to his involvement in the offence.

A Delhi court subsequently extended the ED custody of Kejriwal till April 1, as his existing six-day ED remand was ending on Thursday.

"Even after giving multiple opportunities to cooperate in the investigation by issuing summons dated 30.10.2023, 18.12.2023, 22.12.2023, 12.01.2024 and 31.01.2024, 14.02.2024, 21.02.2024, 26.02.2024, and 16.03.2024, Arvind Kejriwal has willfully disobeyed these summonses and didn't present himself for recording of statement," it said in its remand plea.

"A separate complaint under Section 174 of the IPC has also been filed before the court of ACMM, Rouse Avenue, in this regard. The conduct of disobeying the summons also leads to an additional inference to Arvind Kejriwal's involvement in the said offence. Further, a statement under section 17 of PMLA has been recorded on 21.03.2024 where he has not revealed the truth nor given correct facts," it added.

The ED claimed that "on the basis of the material in possession, Kejriwal was found guilty under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002 for the commission of the offence of money laundering for actively involved in the process and activities connected with the proceeds of crime and he was arrested on March 21 at 9.05 p.m."

Noting that the AAP is headed by Kejriwal, who is its National Convenor, and functions through the members of the National Executive Committee and Political Affairs Committee such as Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and other members.

"As per the investigation done so far, the proceeds of crime of about Rs 45 crore approximate, which was part of the bribes received from the South Group, were used in the election campaign of the AAP in Goa in 2021-22," it contended and termed the AAP the major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated in the Delhi liquor scam.

“… AAP has committed the offence of money laundering through Arvind Kejriwal and the offences thus are covered by section 70, PMLA 2002. Kejriwal is the ultimate charge of the AAP and was intrinsically involved in the acts of policy formulation, kickback scheme and the final use of the proceeds of crime thus generated including conspiracy thereof," it added.