The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on Tuesday at the residences of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan in Delhi as part of a money-laundering investigation, according to official sources. The 49-year-old legislator represents the Okhla constituency in the Delhi Assembly.
The Enforcement Directorate searches are being carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, with approximately three premises under scrutiny, preliminary inputs suggest.
The federal agency initiated action based on FIRs filed by the Delhi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Central Bureau of Investigation against the legislator. The allegations are linked to corruption and illegal appointments within the Delhi Waqf Board.
Reacting to the central agency's move, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, "Jaise jaise kadiya mil rahi hai, waise waise zanjeer ban rahi hai [The chain is being completed as the links are being joined]. If he is involved in corruption, investigation agencies will do their job."
Sachdeva further said: "Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party are a clan of criminals and corrupt. BJP's struggle against the corrupt Kejriwal government will continue."
AAP MP Sushil Gupta, however, said, "Amanatullah had already got bail in this case. The court had reprimanded the Anti-Corruption Bureau on this. Now, the same thing is being investigated by ED. They, too, are not going to get a thing. Kejriwal will soon be behind the bars."
Amanatullah Khan had previously been arrested by the Delhi ACB in September last year. The ACB case revolves around allegations of corruption in the Delhi Waqf Board. The ACB FIR accuses Khan, who served as the chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board, of unlawfully recruiting 32 individuals, violating established norms and government guidelines.
In September 2022, the ACB stated that the then CEO of the Delhi Waqf Board had provided a clear statement and issued a memorandum against the alleged illegal recruitments. Furthermore, it was alleged that, during Khan's tenure as chairman, he illicitly leased several properties of the Delhi Waqf Board, with additional accusations of corruption and favouritism
The ACB's statement in September 2022 also claimed the misappropriation of funds from the Delhi Waqf Board, consisting of grants in aid from the Delhi government. The ED's current actions are an extension of the investigation into these allegations.