ED Alleges AAP Received Rs 7-Crore Illegal Foreign Funding, Seeks FCRA Probe. Party Denies Claims

The ED alleges that the AAP received over Rs 7 crore in foreign funds, violating the FCRA. The AAP denies the allegations, claiming they have accounted for all donations to the Election Commission.

File Photo of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and minister Atishi. ( Image Source :PTI )

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written to the Union Home Ministry (MHA) alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which governs Delhi and Punjab, received over Rs 7 crore in foreign funds, violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), official sources told news agency PTI on Monday. This communication follows the discovery of documents and emails during a money laundering probe linked to former Punjab AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

The federal agency's probe, launched in 2021, resulted in Khaira’s arrest the same year. Khaira is now affiliated with the Congress party. According to PTI, sources reveal that in August last year, the ED had sent a detailed report to the MHA highlighting alleged violations by AAP, categorising these as contraventions of the FCRA and The Representation of the People Act. Recently, the ED shared additional inputs with the MHA regarding the case.

The ED alleges that AAP received approximately Rs 7.08 crore in overseas donations, which were reportedly mis-declared and manipulated in terms of donor identities and nationalities. The agency provided the MHA with details including donor names, nationalities, passport numbers, donation amounts, modes of donation, and other pertinent information, PTI's report stated. Fundraising events by AAP's overseas volunteers in the USA and Canada between 2015 and 2016 were also reported to have breached FCRA regulations.

According to PTI, the ED also told the Home Ministry that the names of some Canada-based people and their nationalities had been concealed in the AAP's financial records to hide the foreign donations being made to the party into its Indian bank account.

'BJP Raising Old, Fake Issues Sensing Defeat': AAP Dismisses ED Allegations

Responding to these allegations, senior AAP leaders vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi stated, “Since the day AAP was established, we have accounts of every donation and have submitted the same to the Election Commission, Income Tax Department, and other institutions.” She further asserted, “In 2015, during the Delhi Assembly election, similar accusations were made but the people of Delhi did not believe them. This time too, the public knows the truth behind these false allegations and is determined to oust the BJP government on 4th June.”

2015 में भी हमारे ऊपर ऐसा ही एक आरोप लगाया गया था, लेकिन दिल्ली की जनता ने इन झूठे आरोपों पर भरोसा नहीं किया था।

इस बार भी देश की जनता इन झूठे आरोपों की सच्चाई जानती है और उसने मन बना लिया है कि उनके वोट की ताकत से बीजेपी की सरकार जाने वाली है और 4 जून को INDIA की सरकार बनने जा… pic.twitter.com/2hWQWTjdBt

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 20, 2024

AAP leader Sandeep Pathak echoed this sentiment, labelling the BJP’s actions as politically motivated. “The BJP has raised a new issue claiming AAP received foreign funds. This is an old issue, and the party has already given the details of every single penny to the CBI, ED, and the MHA. In 2015, the MHA informed the high court that nothing wrong happened. Why are they raising this issue again? They do this when they are about to lose an election,” he remarked.

Pathak criticised the BJP's tactics further, saying, “The BJP's ED is bringing up an old case that has already been cleared by the police in an affidavit to the high court. Whenever the BJP senses defeat, it resorts to raising such old and fake issues to engage in dirty politics.”

BJP की ED आज जिस मामले को उठा रही है वह पुराना मामला है और इस बारे में पुलिस हाईकोर्ट में हलफ़नामा दाखिल करके यह कह चुकी है इसमें कुछ भी ग़लत नहीं है।

असल में बीजेपी को जब भी अपनी हार दिखती है वह इस तरह के पुराने और फर्जी मामलों को उठाती है और गंदी राजनीति करती है।… pic.twitter.com/UnRxzMJzFK

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 20, 2024

Atishi also condemned the new allegations, mentioning previous attempts to malign AAP leaders. “Efforts were made to falsely accuse Arvind Kejriwal through Swati Maliwal, and when that failed, his PA Vibhav Kumar was targeted. Video footage has exposed that conspiracy. Now, through the ED, the BJP is alleging we took illegal donations. I want to inform the BJP and ED that since its inception, the Aam Aadmi Party has accounted for every single rupee to the Election Commission and the Income Tax Department.”

स्वाति मालीवाल के जरिए अरविंद केजरीवाल पर झूठे आरोप लगाने का प्रयास किया गया लेकिन जब वह नहीं मिले तो उनके PA विभव कुमार जी पर आरोप लगा दिए गए। लेकिन वीडियो फुटेज से इस साजिश का भी पर्दाफाश हो गया।

अब आज ED के माध्यम से एक नई साजिश के साथ बीजेपी सामने आई है कि हमने गलत तरीके से… pic.twitter.com/lsQAGqE2KO

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 20, 2024

As the political friction continues, the MHA may consider requesting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate these charges made by the ED, PTI reported an expert as saying.