A day after the CBI filed a chargesheet in the Delhi excise policy scam, the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday filed its first Prosecution Complaint (chargesheet) before a court here in connection with the money laundering case naming liquor businessman Sameer Mahandru as one of the accused.
Besides liquor company Indospirits' promoter Mahandru, the prosecution complaint has also listed two other persons as accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said.
The 3,000-page prosecution complaint contains statements of the accused along with annexures, they said.
The agency has so far undertaken 169 search operations in this case, filed after taking cognisance of the CBI FIR in the excise policy scam which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
The CBI enquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary’s report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010.
A total of five persons have been arrested by the ED in this case till now. Mahendru was arrested by the ED on September 27 following his questioning.
On Friday, the CBI had filed its first charge sheet against seven accused, including two arrested businessmen and two excise officials in the Delhi Excise policy scam case relating to corruption and criminal conspiracy.
Besides the two arrested businessmen–Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally, those named in the CBI chargesheet are Arun R Pillai, Mootha Gautham, Sameer Mahendru (promoter of liquor company Indospirit), then Deputy Commissioner, Excise Kuldeep Singh and then Assistant Commissioner, Excise Narender Singh.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, named in the CBI FIR as the prime accused, does not figure in the first CBI charge sheet but the agency is likely to name him in a supplementary chargesheet at a later date, officials had said.
The accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
“Further investigation is continuing to investigate the role of FIR named accused and other persons on various allegations including conspiracies with other licensees, money trails, cartelization and larger conspiracies in the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy,” the CBI had said in a statement.
A case was registered on August 17 against Sisodia and others including then Commissioner (Excise), then Deputy Commissioner (Excise), then Assistant Commissioner (Excise), 10 liquor licencees, their associates and unknown others on a reference from the Union Home Ministry related to alleged irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy.
