Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI, MAR 18 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will skip the Enforcement Directorate summons that was issued in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the Aam Aadmi Party said on Monday.

The summons was issued to him on Saturday under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), asking the Chief Minister to appear before the Enforcement Directorate sleuths for questioning today.

A representative of the AAP said that since the Rouse Avenue Court has granted bail to Kejriwal in connection with Enforcement Directorate (ED) complaints for skipping multiple summonses, then why is the agency still sending summonses to him?

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The party also termed the summons of the agency as “illegal”.

CASE AGAINST KEJRIWAL

In the DJB case, the probe agency has claimed that funds obtained through corruption in a contract awarded by the Delhi government’s department were allegedly channelled as election funds to the Aam Aadmi Party .

In February, the ED conducted raids at the residences of Kejriwal’s personal assistant, a Rajya Sabha MP from AAP, a former DJB member, a chartered accountant, and others as part of this probe.

The ED’s case is based on a CBI FIR alleging irregularities in a DJB contract awarded to a company — NKG Infrastructure Ltd. — for a sum of Rs 38 crore even though the company “did not meet” the technical eligibility criteria.

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested individuals linked to the contract, alleging that kickbacks were involved in awarding the contract and these funds were subsequently used for illicit purposes, including as election funds for the AAP.

However, the AAP has termed the agency’s claims as “fake”.

Notably, this was the second instance where Kejriwal was summoned under the anti-money laundering law.

He is also facing a probe in the Delhi excise policy-related money laundering case.

-PTI