Delhi excise case: BRS leader Kavitha handled Rs 292-crore proceeds of crime, alleges ED

According to the ED, out of Rs 1,100 crore, Kavitha was involved in proceeds of crime (PoC) worth Rs 292.8 crore.

BRS MLA K Kavitha is currently in Tihar jail after being arrested by ED. (File Photo)

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha handled Rs 292-crore worth of proceeds of crime (PoC) and formatted nine cellphones to destroy digital evidence, alleged the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The central probe agency made the statement in its sixth supplementary chargesheet filed in the money laundering case related to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

“As per the investigation so far, the total PoC identified is Rs 1,100 crore, out of which, PoC of Rs 292.8 crore is being dealt with in this prosecution complaint. Through activities of the accused persons i.e. Smt K Kavitha, Sh Chanpreet Singh, Sh Prince Kumar, Sh Damodar Sharma, and Sh Arvind Singh (co-accused in the case), huge proceeds of crime have been generated,” read the ED chargesheet.

According to the ED, Kavitha allegedly gave Rs 100 crore of proceeds of crime to AAP leaders as kickbacks in exchange of “undue benefits” as well as received Rs 192 crore profits from a company named ‘Indospirits’ she had established — a total of Rs 292 crore.

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Also Read | Delhi excise policy case: Kavitha conspired with Kejriwal: ED; ‘high-profile’ arrests likely, CBI tells court

The “undue favours” in return of Rs 100 crore proceeds of crime was part of the Delhi liquor business to ensure that stakes for the ‘South Group’ in different L1s, directing the biggest manufacturer, Pernod Ricard, to the wholesaler of the ‘South Group’ as well as allowing holding multiple retail zones as “against the principles/ objectives of the excise policy 2021-22”. The ED, in its chargesheet, also said that these kickbacks were used in AAP’s Goa poll campaign and were funneled through co-accused Chanpreet Singh, Vinod Chauhan, Damodar Sharma, Prince Kumar and Arvind Singh.

The ED also attached Rs 115-crore worth of assets of two approvers — businessman Raghava Magunta, the son of TDP Lok Sabha poll candidate Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, and Aurobindo Pharma promoter Sarath Chandra Reddy — in its chargesheet.

The ED, for the first time, named Kavitha — who is in judicial custody till June 3 and June 7 in the money laundering and corruption cases, respectively, linked to the excise policy “scam” — as an accused in its chargesheet in May 2024. It had earlier said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal — who is in judicial custody till June 5 in relation to the case — was directly involved in the formulation of the Delhi excise policy, which was drafted considering the favours to be granted to the ‘South Group’.

The ‘South Group’ refers to a group of individuals from South India that the ED claims secured uninhibited access, undue favours, attained stakes in established wholesale businesses, and multiple retail zones (over and above what was allowed in the policy), as well as paid Rs 100 crore to AAP leaders in return. Kavitha is part of this group, the ED alleged.

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Kejriwal and the AAP were named in the ED’s seventh supplementary chargesheet, whose cognizance is likely to be taken on Tuesday.

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