Kavitha Kingpin of Delhi liquor scam, bribed AAP Rs 100 Cr: ED tells court

Hyderabad: BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha Rao is the kingpin in the Delhi Liquor Policy Scam. She, along with other members of the ‘South Group’, bribed AAP leaders with Rs 100 crores and tweaked the policy to create a stream of illegal income, the ED told the court and sought 10 days of custody for further questioning.

The court has granted ED her remand till March 23.

A day after Kavitha’s arrest, the sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate produced her before a special court, at Rouse Avenue District Court Complex, hearing the Delhi Liquor Policy Scam case.

ED in its remand custody petition has accused Kavitha of being the Boss of South Group

1. Kavitha is one of the kingpins, a key conspirator and a beneficiary of the Delhi Excise Policy Scam. She along with other members of the South Group i.e. Sarath Reddy, Raghav Magunta and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, conspired with the top APP (Aam Aadmi Party) leaders and gave them kickbacks to the tune of Rs 100 crores and in exchange got undue favours in the Delhi Excise Policy formulation and implementation.

2. Kavitha orchestrated a deal with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and then deputy CM and then minister of Excise, Manish Sisodia, wherein she, along with other members of the South Group, paid them kickbacks through a string of intermediaries and middlemen. In exchange for the kickbacks paid to the AAP leaders, she had access to the policy formulation and was offered provisions to ensure a favourable position to her.

3. She also acquired stakes in the partnership of Indo Spirits, through her associate Arun Pillai, without substantial investment in the firm and distribution business of Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd, one of the biggest manufacturers in the country. This made Indo Spirits the most profitable LI in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 period and recouped proceeds of crime in the guise of profits.

4. Further, in the policy, the profit margin of the wholesaler was increased to 12 per cent so that out of this margin, a portion could be taken back as kickbacks. This was done to create a continuous stream of illegal funds for the AAP in the form of kickbacks from the wholesalers and for the South Group to recover the kickbacks paid and further generate profits from this entire conspiracy.

5. Kavitha, along with others, paid Rs 100 crores as a bribe to AAP leaders.

How did ED get to Kavitha?

Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, a former YSRCP MP and an alleged member of the South Group, spilled the beans.

In his confession to the CBI he said, “In March 2021, during the Parliament sessions, I had seen a newspaper in Delhi stating the privatisation of the liquor trade. Since we have been in the liquor business for the last 71 years in South India, we thought of entering the trade in Delhi. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal gave me an appointment. When I discussed the trade with him, he mentioned that K Kavitha, BRS MLC and daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, offered to pay Rs 100 crores as a bribe to AAP. The CM asked me to connect with her since their team was already working in Delhi.”

‘Srinivasulu Reddy met Kavitha at residence to discuss bribe’

Kavitha then called Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy on March 19, 2021. The next day, he met her at her residence in Hyderabad. In that meeting, Kavitha asked Srinivasulu Reddy to arrange Rs 50 crores for the same.

“Kavitha told me that her CA Buchi Babu will visit me and my son Raghav Magunta to coordinate on the topic. Buchi Babu visited us the next day and Raghav Magunta told him that he could arrange Rs 30 crores and finally Rs 25 crores was paid in cash to Abhishek Boinpalli and Buchi Babu on the instructions of Kavitha,” the confession said.

This cash transfer was done on two occasions: in March 2021, Rs 10 crores in cash was delivered by Raghav Magenta’s staff Gopi Kumaran to an address given by Buchi Babu in Chennai. In June 2021, Rs 15 crores in cash was also delivered by Gopi Kumar to an address given by Abhishek Boinpally.

How Aurobindo Group director Sarath Chandra Reddy entered the South Group?

Sometime in March 2021, Kavitha’s close aide Arun Pillai contacted Aurobindo Group director Sarath Chandra Reddy.

He informed him that there was a new business opportunity in the Delhi liquor business and Kavitha was in talks with Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia concerning the then upcoming policy. This was done through Vijay Nair, another accused, who proposed that if Kavitha provided Rs 100 crores to Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, they would amend and implement the excise policy beneficial to her. Soon after this discussion with Arun Pillai, Sarath Reddy met Kavitha in Hyderabad.

‘Kavitha’s husband present during discussions’

Kavitha informed Sarath Reddy that the amount to be paid, for a favourable policy and other favours in the Delhi liquor business, was finalised at Rs 100 crores. Sarath Reddy agreed to pay a part of Rs 100 crores to be paid to the AAP. In this meeting, Kavitha’s husband Anil Kumar was also present, the confession statement said.

Money transferred in cash, hawala route

There was a meeting at Oberoi Maidens Hotel in New Delhi where Kavitha, Arun Pillai, Vijay Nair and another accused Dinesh Arora were present. The issue of recovery of advance in paid kickbacks was also discussed. The money was transported in cash in two bags and a hawala route was involved.

Kavitha was involved in the transfer of Rs 100 crores through her staff/associates Abhishek Boinpally and Buchi Babu which was paid to the AAP leaders.

The ED said that Kavitha conspired with other people and was actively involved in the payment of kickbacks to the tune of Rs 100 crores and then in establishing the money laundering ecosystem i.e. lndo Spirits through her proxy which generated proceeds of crime of Rs 192.8 crores. By such acts, K Kavitha is involved in various processes and related activities, the ED told the court seeking her custody for further interrogation.