The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has urged the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to take action against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for allegedly receiving Rs 7 crore from undisclosed foreign donors. The ED claims this violates the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
In a letter to the MHA, the ED accused AAP of concealing the identities of Canadian nationals who funded the party before the 2017 Punjab elections. The ED's investigation revealed that AAP had established AAP Overseas India in countries like the USA, Canada, and Australia, with the primary purpose of mobilising foreign funds for AAP in India.
According to the ED, a target of Rs 50 crore in overseas donations was set for these volunteers in 2016, and the agency has identified 19 Canadian nationals who allegedly donated over Rs 51 lakh to the party.
The ED's letter further states that AAP received over Rs 7 crore in foreign funds from 2014 to 2022, violating the FCRA, the Representation of the People Act, and the Indian Penal Code.
These funds came from multiple countries, including North America, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Oman. The ED claims that AAP concealed the real identities of foreign donors in their accounts to bypass restrictions on foreign donations to political parties. These donations were reportedly deposited in AAP's accounts in IDBI Bank.
The ED's move follows the agency's inclusion of AAP in the chargesheet filed in the excise policy case. This could have serious consequences for AAP, including the potential freezing of its funds. Under the FCRA, political parties are prohibited from receiving funds from foreign nationals.
This development comes weeks after the home ministry received a letter from Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, demanding an NIA probe into AAP's alleged receipt of funds from pro-Khalistan separatists in the US and Canada.
This was allegedly in exchange for a recommendation by Arvind Kejriwal during his 49-day tenure as CM in 2014, seeking clemency for Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a convict in the 1993 bomb blasts.
The ED dossier also reveals that multiple donors used the same passport numbers, emails, mobile numbers, and credit cards for donations. The money laundering probe was launched after the arrest of former AAP functionary Sukhpal Singh Khaira in a drug smuggling case, which led to the discovery of documents detailing significant cash collections made for AAP by its overseas functionaries. Khaira, who has since joined Congress, was questioned by the agency but failed to disclose the actual beneficiaries.
The ED has also accused AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak of syphoning off funds collected during fundraising in Canada in 2016 for personal gain. The agency supported its claims with emails exchanged between various AAP volunteers and functionaries, including Aniket Saxena (coordinator of AAP Overseas India), Kumar Vishwas (then convener of AAP Overseas India), Kapil Bhardwaj (AAP member), and Pathak.
Pathak is also under investigation for his involvement in the excise policy case. The ED stated that the FCRA violations and other irregularities in receiving foreign funds by AAP emerged during the investigation of a case registered in Fazilka district of Punjab against an international drug cartel involved in smuggling heroin from Pakistan.
The probe began after a special court in Fazilka issued summons to Khaira, then an AAP MLA, as an accused. The ED later searched the residences of Khaira and his associates, resulting in the seizure of incriminating documents containing details of foreign donations.
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