Delhi Excise Policy: ED Seizes Assets Worth Over 50 Crore of Manish Sisodia and Other Accused

In a major development in the Delhi Excise Policy (2021-22) scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized the assets of former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia and other accused. The seized assets are valued at over 50.24 crore rupees. The ED has taken this action as part of its investigation into the alleged irregularities in the Excise Policy. Apart from Manish Sisodia, the properties of other accused, including Amandeep Singh Dhillon, Rajesh Joshi, and Gautam Malhotra, have also been confiscated.

The ED has frozen assets worth 76.54 crore rupees, including restaurants, properties, vehicles, and bank balances, belonging to the accused in the Excise Policy scam.

The most expensive seized properties include residential properties worth 35 crore rupees owned by businessman Sameer Mahendra and his wife Geetika Mahendra in Delhi's posh area, Jor Bagh. Another property worth 7.68 crore rupees owned by Amit Arora in Gurugram's Magnolias, and a residential complex worth 1.77 crore rupees. Vijay Nayar owns a property worth crores of rupees in Mumbai's Parekh Creek. Three restaurants - "Chika," "La Roka," and "Unplugged Courtyard" - owned by Dinesh Arora, with a value of 3.18 crore rupees, have also been seized. Other seized assets include a 2.25 crore rupee land in Hyderabad and a property worth 10.23 crore rupees, along with 50 vehicles, owned by the Indospirit Group. Additionally, the bank balance, fixed deposits, and financial instruments amount to a total of 14.39 crore rupees.

The ED has stated that its investigation revealed that corruption and conspiracy in the construction and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 resulted in a loss of at least 2,873 crore rupees from the government exchequer. The ED has invoked Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018 and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, which are related to scheduled offenses and criminal conspiracy, to attach the funds of 76.54 crore rupees.

After receiving a complaint from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding alleged money laundering in the Delhi Excise Policy, the ED conducted several raids across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, along with Excise officials and private individuals, has been listed as an accused in the FIRs registered by the CBI and the ED's ECIR.