Sisodia's properties attached: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 52.24 crore belonging to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia and others in the liquor scam case, the agency said on Friday (July 7).
Others whose properties have been attached include Amandeep Singh Dhall, Rajesh Joshi, and Gautam Malhotra.
"The attached assets worth Rs. 52.24 Crore include immovable properties worth Rs. 7.29 Crore (02 immovable properties of Manish Sisodia/Smt. Seema Sisodia, land/flat of Rajesh Joshi/Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd. and land/flat of Gautam Malhotra). The attachment also includes movable assets worth Rs. 44.29 Crore including bank balances of Manish Sisodia (Rs. 11.49 lakhs), Brindco Sales Pvt. Ltd. (Rs. 16.45 Crore) and others," ED said.
"It is the 2nd Provisional Attachment Order issued in this case. The 1st provisional attachment Order issued was issued for attachment of immovable/movable properties worth Rs. 76.54 Crore of Vijay Nair, Sameer Mahandru, Amit Arora, Arun Pillai and others," it added.
The total attachment in the case has now shot up to Rs 128.78 crore.
"The proceeds of crime involved in this case is at least Rs. 1934 Crore," ED said.
The ED has arrested 12 persons arrested so far in the case including Sisodia and has filed 5 prosecution complaints.
Further investigation into the case is underway.
Sisodia denied bail by court
Meanwhile, the bail application of Sisodia, who was arrested for his alleged involvement in a money laundering case involving alleged irregularities in the excise policy of the city government, was denied by the Delhi High Court on Monday (July 3).
The CBI first arrested Sisodia, the former Delhi deputy chief minister, and excise minister, on February 26 for his alleged involvement in the fraud. He has been in custody ever since. In the CBI case, the high court had already denied him bail on May 30.
In the ED's case, he was taken into custody on March 9 and is currently being held by the court. The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, yet rejected it toward the end of September 2022 in the midst of allegations of corruption.
The 849 liquor shop licenses were granted to private businesses through open bidding under the excise policy that took effect in November 2021. In the past, 475 liquor stores were owned by four government corporations, with the remaining 389 owned by private businesses. After Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended an investigation into the policy's formulation and implementation, the policy was withdrawn on July 30 of that same year.
The Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation have claimed that the excise policy was changed to guarantee a 12% net revenue for wholesalers and an almost 185% overall revenue for retailers.
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