Tag: scam

Excise policy scam a deep-rooted conspiracy, CBI tells Delhi HC

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New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that the excise policy scam it is probing is a “deep-rooted conspiracy” and that it is not as simple as depicted.
As Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma heard submissions in the bail plea filed by AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the CBI, said: “Yesterday (April 25), we filed the charge sheet in the case. Cognizance is yet to be taken.”
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) D. P. Singh also appeared for the CBI.

Raju said: “The main players being, the accused (Manish Sisodia), Vijay Nair who was closely related to the Aam Aadmi Party and was in fact occupying a Ministers Bungalow, one Kailash Gehlot’s, side by side to the CM (Arvind Kejriwal). Nair was the communication in charge of AAP, and had access to party meetings.
“Our case is that at the behest of the ‘South Group’, the 5 percent interest was increased to 12 per cent, right after a meeting that happened with the members of the South group.”
While the “South group” was residing in the Oberoi Hotel in the national capital from March 14 to 17, 2021, they had prepared a note and taken the printout from Sisodia’s computer, according to the ASG.
He added that Sisodia is capable of pressurising persons and the day the CBI arrested him, he destroyed his phone.
After hearing the matter at length, Justice Sharma said: “At the stage of bail, we cannot go into much details. Please show me evidence on which you (CBI) are relying in the present case.”

Accordingly, the court adjourned the matter and scheduled it for next hearing on April 27.
During the last hearing, Sisodia had told the High Court that the CBI has no evidence to show his involvement in the alleged Delhi excise policy case, and that he is being singled out so that he could be kept in jail.
On April 5, Sisodia had moved the high court challenging the March 31 order of CBI Judge M.K. Nagpal (Rouse Avenue Court) dismissing his bail plea.
Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for the AAP leader, had submitted before the bench of Justice Sharma that all the other accused in the CBI case have been released on bail except Sisodia.
He had also said that the probe agency has no proof to show that the AAP leader has tampered with evidence.
“They say that I do not cooperate. This can never be the ground to deny me bail. I am not required to cooperate, confess, or answer questions in the way they want. I am required to answer in the way I want, that is the Constitutional guarantee,” Krishnan had argued.
Another counsel for Sisodia, senior advocate Mohit Mathur, had said that CBI’s figures are just on paper and no money trail has been found.
“They have made me the chief architect of this alleged conspiracy through Vijay Nair. But Vijay Nair was arrested in September 2022 and was released in November, even before the charge sheet was filed. I was only called for questioning for the second time in February 2023. So, all these allegations about me being capable of influencing the witnesses is totally wrong,” Mathur contended on behalf of Sisodia.
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#Excise #policy #scam #deeprooted #conspiracy #CBI #tells #Delhi
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 26, 2023
Ex-J&K governor Satya Pal Malik summoned by CBI over insurance ‘scam’

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New Delhi: The CBI has asked former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik to answer certain queries in connection with an alleged insurance scam in the Union Territory, officials said on Friday.
Reacting to the development, Malik told PTI that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked for his presence at the agency’s Akbar Road guesthouse here for “certain clarifications”.
“They want certain clarifications for which they want my presence. I am going to Rajasthan so I have given them dates from April 27 to 29 when I am available,” Malik said.

The CBI had examined him in connection with the alleged scam last year.
In April last year, the CBI lodged two FIRs over corruption allegations levelled by Malik in the awarding of contracts for a group medical insurance scheme for government employees and civil work worth Rs 2,200 crore related to the Kiru hydroelectric power project in Jammu and Kashmir.
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#ExJK #governor #Satya #Pal #Malik #summoned #CBI #insurance #scam

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 21, 2023
PNB scam: PMLA court grants bail to Nirav Modi’s close aide

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Mumbai: A special PMLA court here on Tuesday granted bail to Subash Parab, a close aide of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case.
Parab was a deputy general manager (finance) at Firestar Diamond, a firm owned by Modi, and was deported to India from Cairo in Egypt in April 2022.
Special PMLA judge S M Menjonge allowed the Parab’s bail plea, citing that it appeared from the bail application that the accused was not beneficiary of the proceeds of crime.

Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of duping PNB, a public sector bank, of Rs 13,000 crore using letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) by bribing its officials at the Brady House branch in Mumbai.
Parab is understood to be a key witness to the letters of undertaking submitted to the bank to siphon off more than Rs 7,000 crore.
India had issued an Interpol Red Notice against Parab to track him down and bring him back.
In February, he was granted bail in a related case being probed by the CBI.
A LoU is a guarantee given by a bank to Indian banks having branches abroad for the grant of short-term credit to an applicant. In case of default, the bank issuing the LoU has to pay the liability.

The companies of Modi and Choksi took loans from banks abroad using the PNB’s LoUs, but did not repay them, thus transferring the liability to the bank.
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#PNB #scam #PMLA #court #grants #bail #Nirav #Modis #close #aide
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 18, 2023
Three Engineers Attached In Rs Six Cr Solar Lights Scam

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SRINAGAR: The Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) attached three engineers including Executive Engineer while an inquiry has been ordered against them for withdrawing Rs 6 crores for non-existent works in Kupwara.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has reported that the Electric Division (ED) of Kupwara withdrew Rs 6 crore from the treasury for the installation of 3,600 solar street lights. However, during physical verification, no street lights were found installed.
As a result, the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has attached three engineers, including an Executive Engineer, an Assistant Engineer, and a Junior Engineer, while an inquiry has been ordered against them. The Superintendent Engineer Sopore has been tasked with conducting the investigation based on the ACB’s report.
The ACB found that the ED Kupwara made an illegal payment of Rs 6.12 crore to four contractor firms without installing any solar lights. In response, the ACB has recommended that action be taken against the delinquent officials, including cancelling the tender and recovering the payments.
The AEEs and JEs of Sub Division Kupwara and Sub Division Trehgam both communicated to the Executive Engineer ED Kupwara that the allotted works were impossible to execute at the end of the financial year in just two or three days. However, the Executive Engineer ED Kupwara prepared bills for the non-existent work through unauthorized channels.

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#Engineers #Attached #Solar #Lights #Scam
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 18, 2023
Excise policy scam: Delhi court extends Sisodia’s judicial custody by 2 weeks

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New Delhi: A court here on Monday extended former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s judicial custody by two weeks in connection with the excise policy case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Before the bench of special judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court, the ED had earlier submitted that Sisodia had planted fabricated e-mails to show that there was a public approval for the policy.
“We have evidence that Sisodia had e-mails planted. These have been received not only in the official e-mail account of the Excise Department but even in his personal e-mail account. The content of the e-mails was given by Sisodia which suited his agenda,” the counsel for the ED had told while opposing the bail plea.

“Fabricated e-mails were sent to show that there was a public approval of the policy. This is a sham approvala Illegal ecosystem was created to give benefits to the liquor cartels in lieu of kickbacks.”
The ED’s special public prosecutor Zoheb Hossain had then told the judge that the agency wanted to show him the case diary.
To this, Sisodia’s counsel had said that it should not be done so in secrecy.
“Sealed cover business should go. If something is used against me to deny me my libertya If they are relying on something behind my backa It should be put to me as well,” the counsel said.
However, the probe agency said that the 60 days to complete the investigation against him are not over yet.

The ED said: “We will put it to you after 60 days.”
The court then adjourned the hearing in bail matter for Tuesday.
On April 5, the ED had informed Judge Nagpal that it has found fresh evidence indicating Sisodia’s involvement in the alleged excise scam, and the investigation is at a crucial stage.
The court had extended AAP leader’s custody till April 17 in this case.
On March 21, Sisodia had moved a plea seeking bail plea in ED’s case.
After the CBI arrested the AAP leader on February 26, the ED also arrested him in the same case on March 9.
The probe agency had earlier claimed that within a span of one year, 14 phones have been destroyed and changed, and that Sisodia has been evasive from the start.
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#Excise #policy #scam #Delhi #court #extends #Sisodias #judicial #custody #weeks
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 17, 2023
SAD chief alleges ‘scam’ in Punjab’s excise policy, seeks questioning of CM Mann

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Jalandhar: SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday alleged a “scam” in the Punjab government’s excise policy, seeking that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann be questioned in the matter like his counterpart in Delhi.
He alleged that the Punjab excise policy had been “patterned” on the Delhi excise policy.
“Just like in the Delhi policy, the AAP government in Punjab created a monopoly in the liquor trade by handing over the entire business to a few contractors,” Badal said.

“While the scam had been exposed in Delhi, the AAP continued to loot the public exchequer in Punjab as it had extended the excise policy by another year,” he further alleged in a statement issued here.
Badal said only a CBI inquiry and a thorough questioning of the Punjab chief minister can “unmask this scam”.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was questioned by the CBI on Sunday in the excise policy case, amid protests by his party as the AAP chief accused the agency of acting at the behest of the BJP.
In a five-minute video message on Twitter before arriving at the heavily fortified headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation at around 11 am, Kejriwal claimed that the BJP might have ordered the agency to arrest him.
AAP leader Manish Sisodia was arrested on February 26 after nearly eight hours of questioning in the case.

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#SAD #chief #alleges #scam #Punjabs #excise #policy #seeks #questioning #Mann
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 16, 2023
Delhi Excise scam case: CBI grills Kejriwal for nine hours

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New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged excise policy scam later over 9 hours before ending at around 8.15 p.m.
Kejriwal, who joined the probe at the CBI headquarters at 11.05 a.m., was asked about AAP leader Vijay Nair, businessman Sameer Mahendru and how the policy got leaked before it was implemented.
A team of senior officials recorded his statement.

The CBI has filed a charge sheet in the matter and now they are all set to file a supplementary charge sheet.
Delhi’s then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI and the ED in the case and is presently behind bars.
The Delhi Police had imposed Section 144 in and around the CBI’s headquarters to avoid any problems and detained 1,305 AAP workers.
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#Delhi #Excise #scam #case #CBI #grills #Kejriwal #hours
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 16, 2023
Delhi excise policy scam: CBI to question CM Kejriwal on Sunday

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New Delhi: The CBI will question Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday in its probe into the excise policy scam, a move that has escalated the AAP-Centre faceoff and became a fresh rallying point for opposition unity push ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
As opposition leaders like the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and JD(U) supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed solidarity with Kejriwal on Saturday and renewed calls to speed up opposition unity efforts to take on the BJP, officials said the CBI may ask the AAP chief about the policy formulation process, especially of the “untraceable” file which was earlier slated to be put before the Delhi Council of Ministers.
Kejriwal is being summoned as a witness and is not an accused in the excise policy case in which his former deputy Manish Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) on February 26. Sisodia was last month arrested by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) and is in judicial custody.

The chief minister on his part said the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) has emerged as a ray of hope for the country and claimed that is the reason why efforts are being made to trample it.
In his first reaction after being served a notice by the CBI to appear before it at 11 am on Sunday, Kejriwal said he will be present before the probe agency.
Addressing a press conference here, he said no other party has been targeted in the last 75 years as the AAP. He also alleged that the agencies were torturing people to extract false confessions.
Asserting that if he was “corrupt” then no one in the world was “honest”, Kejriwal also claimed that BJP leaders were demanding his arrest and that if the saffron party had “ordered” the probe agency to arrest him, it cannot refuse doing so.
Kejriwal said he will sue the CBI and ED officials for alleged perjury and filing false affidavits in courts.

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju took a jibe at Kejriwal over his sue CBI and ED remarks, saying the AAP leader will file a case against the court if convicted.
It is alleged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was later scrapped.
Kejriwal also wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin, saying democracy in India is being dealt blows every single day and the country’s federal structure is in grave danger. “It is a foregone conclusion that democracy in India is suffering from blows every single day.”
Sources said that Kharge telephoned Kejriwal, and stressed the need for opposition parties to unite against the BJP ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Kharge is learnt to have expressed solidarity with Kejriwal, they said.
Nitish Kumar said Kejriwal will reply to “all the actions” initiated against him at an “appropriate time”.
“People know what is happening against him (Kejriwal). He is a well-regarded person and he has done a lot of developmental work in his state. He will reply to all the actions that have been initiated against him at the appropriate time”, the Bihar chief minister told reporters in Patna.
“This is the reason that we are making efforts to unite more and more parties in the country against the BJP-led central government. We will make all efforts and work unitedly.”
Kumar met Kejriwal in Delhi on Wednesday in his attempt to forge an alliance of opposition parties against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre before the 2024 general election.
In his reply to a letter from Stalin, Kejriwal noted that “every tenet” of the India’s Constitution stands compromised, be it liberty, equality, secularism, or fraternity.
Making a strong pitch for opposition unity ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the DMK supremo recently said there should be collective effort towards ensuring federalism, equality and social justice.
The AAP alleged that the Centre was “misusing” probe agencies to “harass” its leaders and preparing to arrest Kejriwal.
It also alleged that the Centre was “scared” of the AAP and their aim was to finish the party.
Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and Delhi Cabinet minister Atishi asserted Kejriwal was the only politician speaking out on the issue of corruption, which was why efforts were being made to stifle his voice.
As the political slugfest intensified, the BJP claimed that Kejriwal was trembling with fear following the CBI summons to him, and said he should take a lie detector test if he had nothing to be afraid of.
At a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also slammed the AAP leader for attacking the central government over the summons and said it was not the time for rhetoric but accountability.
Delhi Police will deploy over 1,000 security personnel, including paramilitary forces, outside the CBI headquarters to ensure the safety of Kejriwal, officials said.
Security will also be tightened outside the AAP office in Rouse Avenue, they said.
An adequate number of barricades will also be placed on the streets at both these places to ensure AAP workers and supporters do not create any trouble, they said.
Officials said the CBI may also quiz Kejriwal on the statements of other accused where they have indicated the manner in which policy was allegedly influenced to favour some liquor businessmen and the ‘South liquor lobby’.
In addition, the agency may also seek his role in the formulation of the excise policy and his knowledge about alleged influence being cast by the traders and ‘South lobby’ members, the officials said.
Kejriwal may also be asked if he was involved in the formulation of the policy before it was given approval, they said.
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#Delhi #excise #policy #scam #CBI #question #Kejriwal #Sunday
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 15, 2023
Arvind Kejriwal trying to divert attention from scam with his theatrics: Delhi BJP

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New Delhi: Delhi BJP on Saturday said AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was trying to divert attention from “scams” of his government by indulging in “theatrics” and is probably scared that he may end up in jail like his deputy, Manish Sisodia.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Chief Minister, who has been asked to appear before the CBI in connection with an alleged liquor scam, hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the probe agencies were trying to frame him by torturing and threatening accused and witnesses in the excise case.
“Kejriwal is speaking the language of gangsters like Atiq and indulging in theatrics to divert attention from scams of his government. He is also trying to avoid the questions of the investigating agencies by giving arguments,” alleged Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.

The secrets of the Kejriwal government’s liquor scam and Jal Board “loot” are being exposed, the whole Aam Aadmi Party is flickering like a lamp about to go out, Sachdeva said.
“This morning we all heard gangster Atiq Ahmed asking the police to first bring the phone on which he spoke, and then he will tell who he spoke to. On the same lines, this afternoon Arvind Kejriwal said first bring the scammed 100 crore rupees and then he will accept whether the scam happened or not,” said Sachdeva.
Kejriwal had earlier said that the probe agencies claimed a graft of Rs 100 crore in the alleged liquor scam but failed to produce a single penny or any other evidence of it.
Sachdeva said the AAP spokespersons are comparing Kejriwal with Lord Krishna and trying to portray him as a nationalist.
But the people of the country have not forgotten Kejriwal’s questioning the valour of the Indian army and his suggestion to build a hospital instead of Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

“Why did they withdraw the liquor policy after the CBI probe was recommended? Why was Rs 144 crore waived under the policy to benefit liquor mafia? He should also answer if the policy was changed in a meeting at his residence,” Sachdeva asked Kejriwal, and said 100 letters will be sent to him every day till he gives his response.
BJP MP Parvesh Verma said, “He should give us time to meet. I will prove corruption with all the proof. Will Kejriwal quit politics if the corruption charges are proved?”
Verma said that Kejriwal is scared because perhaps he has realised it’s now his turn to go to jail.
He also alleged that Kejriwal did not keep a single department with him, nor signed any file, apparently suggesting that he knew about the alleged corruption.
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#Arvind #Kejriwal #divert #attention #scam #theatrics #Delhi #BJP
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 15, 2023
Delhi Excise scam case: CBI summons Arvind Kejriwal for questioning

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The CBI called Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning in the Delhi excise policy case on Sunday (April 16).
The summons comes as AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is being held in connection with the same investigation, and other arrests have been made by investigators.
Kejriwal has also been summoned by the Goa Police for an alleged defacement of public property, for which he must appear for questioning on April 27. The CBI has summoned the chief minister for the first time in the case, despite the BJP’s claims that Kejriwal was the brains behind the alleged fraud.

Kejriwal stated that all AAP leaders must be prepared to go to jail as the Election Commission formally recognised the party as a national party.
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#Delhi #Excise #scam #case #CBI #summons #Arvind #Kejriwal #questioning
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 14, 2023