According to the CBI chargesheet, Arvind Kejriwal was directly involved in the excise "scam."

NEW DELHI: The CBI concluded its investigation into the purported anomalies in the formulation and execution of Delhi Excise Policy 2021–22 on Monday, at which point it submitted a thorough 200-page chargesheet against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other individuals.

The event happened 712 days after the agency filed a formal complaint and started its investigation.In addition, without succeeding in capturing them, the CBI filed charges against AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak, non-executive director Sarath Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma, director of Buddy Retail Amit Arora, businessman Ashish Mathur, and hawala operator Vinod Chauhan.The CBI has asserted that the CM was directly involved in the "scam" and that he personally gave DANICS official C Arvind the "draft GOM" (group of ministers) policy paper at his residence, so facilitating the irregularities as the supreme authority.

The former deputy chief minister Sisodia's secretary, an IAS officer, said in a court statement that he received the report in March 2021 following Sisodia's summons to the chief minister's home.

"New Evidence" Is Added to the Final Chargesheet .there  was reportedly rigged to favor the liquor cartel. Additionally, the AAP's coordinator, Vijay Nair, had presented a copy of the excise policy to the DANICS officer's testimony. to be entered into a computer system while Kejriwal was there.New evidence, including information from an iCloud account, is also included in the final chargesheet, according to insiders. In his Delhi Secretariat office on March 16, 2021, Kejriwal allegedly met with liquor businessman Magunta Reddy and Bharat Rashtra Samithi MP K Kavitha, according to the file.According to the chargesheet, Reddy attempted to get Kejriwal's backing for his alcohol company in Delhi at this meeting by asking for changes to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 that was being developed.

According to the chargesheet, Kejriwal asked Reddy to get in touch with the accused Kavitha, who was working with his team to draft the excise policy, and promised to support Reddy. Kejriwal allegedly gave Reddy instructions to donate money to his party, the AAP, according to the CBI.The chargesheet from the central agency also states that certain liquor industry players in south India paid upfront payments to AAP politicians and other public servants through the co-accused, totaling almost Rs 100 crore. Allegedly, these payments were given to enable advantageous modifications to the excise policy for 2021–2022.The agency asserts that through a variety of strategies, such as the issuance of excess credit notes, bank transfers, and outstanding amounts left in the accounts of controlled companies, these kickbacks were later reimbursed to a few conspirators from the South lobby out of the profit margins of wholesalers holding L-1 licences. Furthermore, the CBI has claimed that by breaking rules, a cartel was established between the three parties involved in the now-canceled excise policy: retailers, wholesalers, and producers of alcoholic beverages.The chargesheet underscores the active participation of all conspirators in accomplishing the unlawful goals of the aforementioned criminal conspiracy, leading to significant losses for the exchequer and undue advantages for the implicated public officers and other accused individuals.

The AAP has asserted that financial payments were given to people who participated in its campaign activities during the Goa elections, citing statements from these people for positions such as assembly managers, area managers, and survey workers.Together, Durgesh Pathak, an AAP MLA who has also been charged by the CBI, and Vijay Nair, who has been arrested in connection with this case, oversaw these people and campaign-related activities.Sarath Chandra Reddy, a businessman from Hyderabad, was taken into custody by the ED in November of 2022. In June 2023, he became an approver in the case after being given medical bail. He is also facing charges.

On June 26, Kejriwal was taken into prison by the CBI in connection with a related money laundering case, and he was detained at Tihar Jail case that the ED had filed. He was taken into custody by the FBI on March 21; however, on June 20, a trial court granted him bail in connection with the money laundering case. The top court, however, delayed the trial court's order. In the ED case, Kejriwal was granted interim relief by the Supreme Court on July 12.The excise policy was abandoned in 2022 as a result of the Delhi LG's decision for the CBI to look into claims of corruption and irregularities in the creation and implementation of the policy.