Why AAP leader Sanjay Singh is under ED scanner

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday carried out searches at the residence of senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh in connection with its money laundering probe into irregularities in Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

Although Singh has not been named in any of the ED’s five charge sheets filed so far, the agency officials have said on multiple occasions that the Rajya Sabha member is on their radar.

In its charge sheet against former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, filed in May this year, ED said that restauranteur Dinesh Arora was “extremely close” to both Singh and Sisodia.

The accused-turned-approver of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Arora was arrested by the ED in July claiming that he was a key person in the scam.

ED has said that Arora initially met Singh through whom he came in contact with Sisodia during a party at his own restaurant Unplugged Courtyard.

In 2020, ED alleged, Arora received a call from Singh saying that “Delhi assembly elections were coming, and AAP was in need of funds, and he should seek funding from other restaurateurs for the same”.

“On request of Singh, he spoke to many of the restaurant owners and arranged cheques amounting to ₹82 lakh (handed over to Sisodia) for collection of party funds for upcoming assembly elections in Delhi,” the ED charge sheet said.

After this event, Arora is said to have developed a personal relationship with Sisodia who would often visit his restaurant.

Another businessman, Amit Arora, met Singh in 2020 through Arora at the member of parliament’s house. In the existing excise policy in Delhi at that time, the brand registration criterion prescribed only a minimum sale criterion, which was very low at that time and because of which the local brands were gaining more by pushing particular brands and paying kickbacks even though their brands were non-existent in other markets.

The brands that Amit Arora’s business sold were relatively high-end and were highest selling brands in other states but in Delhi because of government controlled retail stores were not doing very well. By inserting a clause in the new policy, Amit Arora wanted to get a better space in the Delhi liquor business.

“Dinesh introduced Amit to Vivek Kumar Tyagi, a close associate/team member of Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia. In this meeting, Amit Arora, Dinesh, Sarvesh Mishra (aide of Singh), Ajit Tyagi PA to Sanjay Singh, Vivek Tyagi and Sanjay Singh were present. They discussed about Amit’s liquor business and Sanjay Singh told him that if he could accommodate his close men/staff in Amit’s business and that in exchange Sanjay Singh would take Amit to Manish Sisodia for further discussion on the above-mentioned request that Amit had.”

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A few days later, Amit, Dinesh Arora and Sanjay Singh went to Sisodia’s residence to meet the former deputy CM.

ED says that “Sisodia had assured to make changes in then proposed 2020-21 excise policy to increase the brand registration criterion for IMFL brands at the behest of Amit Arora and Dinesh Arora”.

In exchange of this, ED adds, as associate and team member of Sanjay Singh – Vivek Tyagi was given stakes in the business run by Amit Arora, Aralias Hospitality.

According to ED, allowing Singh’s aide stakes in Amit Arora’s company in lieu of incorporating changes in excise policy, was a “quid pro quo between Amit Arora, Dinesh Arora and Sanjay Singh and Sisodia”.

However, this policy change didn’t take place since the policy of 2020-21 was not implemented and the old policy of 2019-20 was extended.

Earlier, in May, the anti-money laundering probe agency had carried out searches on two aides – Ajit Singh and Sarvesh Mishra- of Sanjay Singh.

The anti-money laundering probe agency has already filed five charge sheets in the case, including against former deputy chief minister Sisodia alleging that the excise policy promoted cartel formations through back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale profit margins of 12 percent and “incentivised” other illegal activities on account of the alleged criminal conspiracy by the jailed former deputy chief minister of Delhi and other leaders of AAP to extract kickbacks from liquor businesses.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business. It aimed to replace a sales-volume based regime with a license fee-one for traders, and promised swankier stores, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience. The policy also introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor, a first for Delhi.

The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with Delhi’s lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending a probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleging that Saxena’s predecessor sabotaged the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.