The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of violating several laws, including the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), the Representation of People Act (RPA), and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to the ED, the AAP received Rs 7.08 crore in foreign funds between 2014 and 2022. The party, led by Arvind Kejriwal, dismissed these allegations as a political conspiracy to tarnish its reputation.
The ED dossier submitted to the Union Home Ministry revealed that the AAP had received funds from various donors in countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Oman. These allegations come ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi on May 25.
The ED investigation uncovered irregularities in the collection of foreign funds by the AAP and its leaders. It accused individuals, including Durgesh Pathak, an AAP MLA, of misusing funds collected during a fundraising event in Canada in 2016 for personal gain. The ED supported these claims by presenting email exchanges between AAP volunteers and functionaries, including Aniket Saxena, Kumar Vishwas, Kapil Bhardwaj, and Durgesh Pathak.
The investigation revealed that the AAP concealed both the amounts collected through fundraising campaigns in the US and Canada and the identities of the actual donors in their books of accounts. This was done to bypass the restrictions on donations by foreign citizens to a political party under the FCRA. The probe agency also found that multiple donors used the same passport numbers, email IDs, mobile numbers, and credit cards to donate to the AAP.
The ED shared all the investigation details, including donor names, countries, passport numbers, donation amounts, modes of donation, and bank account numbers, with the Union Home Ministry. The agency obtained this information during its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The probe also uncovered evidence of donations made through email IDs and mobile numbers of Canadian nationals.
According to the ED, 155 individuals residing abroad made donations totaling Rs 1.02 crore on 404 occasions using 55 passport numbers. Seventy-one donors used 21 mobile numbers to make donations totaling Rs 99.90 lakh on 256 occasions, while 75 donors residing abroad used 15 credit cards for donations totaling Rs 19.92 lakh on 148 occasions. The ED also uncovered donations of Rs 51.15 lakh made through email IDs and mobile numbers of 19 Canadian nationals, where the names and nationalities were allegedly concealed.
The investigation further revealed that the AAP had established a body called AAP Overseas India, along with volunteers in countries like the US, Canada, and Australia. Their primary objective was to mobilize foreign funds for the party. It was also discovered that a target of Rs 50 crore in overseas donations was set for volunteers in 2016.
During a fundraising event in Canada in 2016, an email conversation between Aniket Saxena and Kumar Vishwas disclosed that Durgesh Pathak and Kapil Bhardwaj requested the transfer of a donation amount of 29,000 Canadian dollars directly to them through Bhagwant Toor. Similarly, during an event in Toronto on November 22, 2015, attended by Durgesh Pathak, 15,000 Canadian dollars were raised. Handwritten data sheets containing donor details were sent via email from party volunteers in Canada to AAP Overseas India. However, the investigation found discrepancies between the names provided in the handwritten data sheets and the official records furnished by the AAP.
In another event organized by the AAP in Toronto on January 30, 2016, a total donation of 11,786 Canadian dollars was collected. Out of this, 3,821 Canadian dollars were used for event expenses. The ED alleged that an amount of 7,955 Canadian dollars was sent to the AAP’s IDBI bank account using the passports of 11 AAP Canada volunteers, even though the donation was claimed to be made by more than 200 attendees.
An AAP party leader and Delhi Minister, Atishi, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being afraid of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. She labeled the ED’s actions as part of a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to defame the AAP. Atishi claimed that the party responded to the ED, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Union Home Ministry, and the Election Commission regarding this case. She believed that the BJP resorts to such tactics before every election and anticipates more false allegations in the coming days.
