Court to Decide on Charges Against Vinod Chauhan and Ashish Mathur in Delhi Excise Policy Case
New Delhi, India – The Rouse Avenue court has reserved its decision on whether to acknowledge the supplementary charge sheet filed against Vinod Chauhan and Ashish Mathur. This case is linked to alleged money laundering connected to the Delhi excise policy. The court is expected to announce its decision on July 9.
On the same day, the court will also consider a supplementary charge sheet involving Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Special Judge Kaveri Baweja reserved the order after hearing from the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) N K Matta and the Investigation Officer.
The ED has accused Vinod Chauhan of sending money to Chanpreet Singh through hawala dealers. They claim to have recovered Rs. 1.06 crores from Chauhan. The ED’s SPP stated that the money trail was traced and used to fund AAP’s Goa assembly elections.
It is alleged that Abhishek Boinpally from the South Group gave Ashok Kaushik two bags of cash, which were then handed to Chauhan. Ashish Mathur, named alongside Chauhan in the 8th supplementary charge sheet, allegedly took this money on Chauhan’s behalf and transferred it to various angadias, who then sent it to co-accused Chanpreet. This money was reportedly used in the Goa elections.
On June 28, the ED filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against Vinod Chauhan, accusing him of transferring bribes received by AAP via hawala in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money-laundering case. Chauhan was arrested by the ED on May 3 and is currently in judicial custody. He was allegedly involved in transferring Rs 25.5 crores out of Rs 45 crores used in the AAP Goa elections.
Advocates Zoheb Hossain and Naveen Kumar Matta, representing the ED, submitted that Chauhan was aware that the money was related to the Delhi liquor excise policy scam and was deeply connected with the key conspirators. The ED alleged that Chauhan was involved in hawala transfers, cash movements, and acted as a middleman for bureaucrats and politicians. Searches at various locations led to the seizure of Rs 1.06 crores from his residence, which the agency claims was held for AAP leaders.
In the excise case, the ED and the CBI have alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy, including undue favours to licence holders, waiving or reducing licence fees, and extending the L-1 licence without proper approval.
