The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting searches at roughly ten places, including the home of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal secretary, among others associated with the Aam Aadmi Party.
According to sources, the raids are part of the agency’s ongoing money laundering investigation. An ED raid is also apparently underway at AAP MP ND Gupta’s residence in Delhi. More information about Tuesday’s raids is awaited.
These raids come as the agency filed a complaint in a Delhi court against AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal for failing to appear for a summons for the fifth time in a matter related to the Excise policy.
On February 3, the ED filed a complaint at Rouse Avenue Court against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for failing to comply with the agency’s summons in the Delhi liquor policy money laundering case.
After hearing the submissions on Saturday, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Divya Malhotra, scheduled the remaining statements and consideration of the agency’s fresh complaint for February 7.
On February 3, the ED filed a new complaint case under Section 190 (1)(a) Cr.P.C. r/w. Section 200 Cr.P.C., 1973 r/w. Section 174 IPC, 1860 r/w. Section 63 (4) of PMLA, 2002 for non-attendance in accordance with Section 50 of PMLA, 2002.
On February 2, 2024, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ignored the Enforcement Directorate’s summons for the seventh time in connection with the money laundering investigation into irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 case.
The new summons to the Delhi Chief Minister came after he ignored the fourth summons on January 18.The party stated that omitting the fifth summons was “unlawful.” “Kejriwal has so far skipped four previous summons issued by the ED on January 18, January 3, November 2, and December 22, calling them “illegal and politically motivated.”
Earlier this month, a team from the Delhi Crime Branch went to Arvind Kjeriwal’s residence in civil lines and presented him with a notice to join a probe into claims that the BJP attempted to “poach” MLAs to destabilize his government.