Excise Policy case: AAP counters ED claims, says Sisodia's properties worth Rs 16 lakh only attached
Hours after the Enforcement Directorate claimed that it has attached properties to the tune of Rs 52.24 crore of AAP leader Manish Sisodia and his wife and others in the now scrapped excise policy money laundering case, the AAP countered the claims, saying that of the total attachment by the financial probe agency comprises only properties worth Rs 16 lakh belonging to the former Deputy Chief Minister.
New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) Hours after the Enforcement Directorate claimed that it has attached properties to the tune of Rs 52.24 crore of AAP leader Manish Sisodia and his wife and others in the now scrapped excise policy money laundering case, the AAP countered the claims, saying that of the total attachment by the financial probe agency comprises only properties worth Rs 16 lakh belonging to the former Deputy Chief Minister.
In a tweet from its official handle, the AAP said: "Another shameful lie of Modi's ED. Of the total assets attached by ED today only a bank account containing Rs 11 lakh and a flat of the value of Rs 5 lakh of Sisodia have been attached.
"The assets belonging to Sisodia is total upto the value of Rs 16 lakh only."
The AAP said that the flat of Sisodia in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad was bought in 2005 and it is valued at Rs 5.07 lakh, while the flat of his wife Seema Sisodia in east Delhi's Mayur Vihar area is worth Rs 65 lakh and was bought in 2018.
It also said that both these flats were bought before the year 2018 when the excise policy was not even mentioned anywhere.
The strong rebuttal from the AAP came after the ED claimed that it attached properties worth Rs 52.24 crore of Sisodia, his wife, Amandeep Singh Dhall, Rajesh Joshi, Gautam Malhotra and others in connection with the case.
The ED said that the attached assets worth Rs 52.24 crore include immovable properties worth Rs. 7.29 crore -- two immovable properties of Sisodia and his wife Seema Sisodia, land or flat of Joshi or Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd. and land or flat of Malhotra.
The financial probe agency said that the attachment also includes movable assets worth Rs 44.29 crore including bank balances of Sisodia worth Rs 11.49 lakhs, Brindco Sales Pvt Ltd worth Rs 16.45 crore and others.
The ED has arrested 12 persons so far and has filed five charge sheets. The ED case of money laundering is based on the CBI FIR filed against Sisodia and others on August 17 last year. The CBI arrested Sisodia on February 26 this year and the ED arrested him later on March 9. Sisodia is currently in judicial custody.