Excise Policy Case: ED Gets Union Home Ministry Sanction to Prosecute Arvind Kejriwal

The Union Home Ministry has granted approval to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case linked to the excise policy, officials said. The federal agency had filed a chargesheet against the 56-year-old politician before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court last year, after his arrest in March.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted the necessary sanction to the ED to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal under the anti-money laundering law in the Delhi excise policy case, officials said.

The ED has labeled former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as the "kingpin and key conspirator" in the Delhi excise scam. The ED alleges that he conspired with Delhi government ministers, AAP leaders, and others. The agency also argued that AAP, being a political party, qualifies as a "company" under Section 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

As Kejriwal was "in-charge of and responsible" for the said company i.e. AAP during the time of offence, he and his party "shall be deemed guilty" of offences mentioned under the anti-money laundering law and liable to be prosecuted and punished, it had said.

Following Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's recommendation for a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities, the ED registered a money laundering case under the PMLA. The ED took cognizance of a CBI FIR filed on August 17, 2022, and launched its investigation on August 22, 2022.