INDIA: On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate apprehended the director of a Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company, as well as two others from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The alleged businessmen are booked under the law in connection to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021–22 money laundering case. They are arrested under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The purported person is Sharath Reddy, head of Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd., along with Vinay Babu, who is an officer of Pernod Ricard Liquor Company.
They will be produced in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court later in the day, followed by custodial remand. As per sources, Babu and Reddy were active players in the entire scam.
Previously, in September 2022, the probe agency arrested Sameer Mahandru, the managing director of a liquor manufacturing company named Indospirit. However, the raids are still ongoing in different parts of the states.
In August 2022, the CBI charged Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as an active accused, apart from senior bureaucrats of the Delhi government and others. Sisodia was arrested, and before that, his close aide’s premises were searched.
The scheme came to light after the Delhi Lieutenant Governor recommended a CBI probe into the ongoing irregularities in the implementation of Delhi’s Excise Policy 2021–22.
The governor had also suspended 11 excise officials in connection to the illegitimate money laundering fraud.
The ingestion is taking place as Gujarat assembly elections approach, and AAP is attempting to gain a foothold in the state.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the saffron party is trying to taint its reputation so that it can’t take an active part in the Gujarat election.
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