Kavitha named in liquor scam

Figures as part of ‘south group’ in ED remand report
NAVEENA GHANATE
Hyderabad

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter Kavitha Kalvakuntla has now been named in the Delhi Liquor scam case, with her name figuring in Amit Arora’s remand report.The Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday sent Amit Arora, director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, to the Enforcement Directorate’s remand in connection with the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam money laundering case.

As per the remand report, the investigating officers stated that Kavitha used two numbers and 10 phones, and presented the IMEI details of those phones. With one phone number starting with 620, Kavitha used six phones and destroyed them, while with the other phone number, which starts with 898, she used four phones.

Investigators stated that Kavita Kalvakuntla used 10 iPhones in this scam. In this total liquor scam, 36 people bought 170 iPhones worth Rs 1.38 crore. These 170 phones were destroyed. Kavitha’s follower Abhishek Boinapally changed five phones and destroyed five.  Kavita’s auditor Buchibabu destroyed six phones. Sarath Chandra Reddy changed nine phones and destroyed nine.

As per the remand report, “This (Delhi Liquor) policy, though on the face of it had promising and laudable objectives of stopping cartelization and encouraging fair trade practices, in reality it promoted cartel formations through the back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale (12%) and huge retail (185%) profit margins and incentivized other illegal activities on account of criminal conspiracy of leaders of AAP. The 12% profit margin to the wholesalers was devised to extract half of it as a kickback to the AAP leaders.

As per the investigation carried so far, Sh Vijay Nair, on behalf of leaders of AAP, has received kickbacks at least to the tune of Rs. 100 cr from a group, called south group (controlled by Sh Sarath Reddy, Ms. K Kavitha, Sh Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) by various persons, including Amit Arora. The same has been disclosed by the arrestee Sh Amit Arora in his statements”.

“On account of the conspiracy mentioned above, the Govt lost the revenue of 12% – Rs. 581 cr.

Kavitha, Sharath Reddy, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy form part of ‘south group’
Kavitha used 10 phones with two mobile numbers in 2021 and 2022
Loss to exchequer was used to recoup the kickbacks paid in advance by south group

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter Kavitha Kalvakuntla has now been named in the Delhi Liquor scam case, with her name figuring in Amit Arora’s remand report.

The Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday sent Amit Arora, director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, to the Enforcement Directorate’s remand in connection with the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam money laundering case.

As per the remand report, the investigating officers stated that Kavitha used two numbers and 10 phones, and presented the IMEI details of those phones.With one phone number starting with 620, Kavitha used six phones and destroyed them, while with the other phone number, which starts with 898, she used four phones.

Investigators stated that Kavita Kalvakuntla used 10 iPhones in this scam. In this total liquor scam, 36 people bought 170 iPhones worth Rs 1.38 crore. These 170 phones were destroyed. Kavitha’s follower Abhishek Boinapally changed five phones and destroyed five.  Kavita’s auditor Buchibabu destroyed six phones. Sarath Chandra Reddy changed nine phones and destroyed nine.

As per the remand report, “This (Delhi Liquor) policy, though on the face of it had promising and laudable objectives of stopping cartelization and encouraging fair trade practices, in reality it promoted cartel formations through the back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale (12%) and huge retail (185%) profit margins and incentivized other illegal activities on account of criminal conspiracy of leaders of AAP. The 12% profit margin to the wholesalers was devised to extract half of it as a kickback to the AAP leaders.

As per the investigation carried so far, Sh Vijay Nair, on behalf of leaders of AAP, has received kickbacks at least to the tune of Rs. 100 cr from a group, called south group (controlled by Sh Sarath Reddy, Ms. K Kavitha, Sh Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) by various persons, including Amit Arora. The same has been disclosed by the arrestee Sh Amit Arora in his statements”.”On account of the conspiracy mentioned above, the Govt lost the revenue of 12% – Rs. 581 cr.

That would have accrued to it in case the Expert Committee recommendations were accepted by the Govt, which in the subject policy was assigned to the private players, only to fill the personal coffers of the leaders of AAP. This loss to the Govt exchequer actually got illegally diverted to ostentatious profits to the wholesalers, which was used to recoup the kickbacks paid in advance by the south group”.

PMLA investigation revealed that the Delhi Excise Policy, 2021-22 was a device created by the leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), some of whom are part of Delhi Govt., to generate illegal funds at the cost of the State exchequer. The policy was formulated with deliberate loopholes, in-built mechanism to facilitate illegal activities, and is marred with deliberate inconsistencies which, when looked deeply, reflect mala fide intentions of the policymakers.

As per the remand report, the device through which the political leaders of AAP received kickbacks functioned at three levels.”The policy was made restrictive to force the manufacturers to select only one L1 wholesaler as their sole distributor. The licence granted to L1 wholesalers was on application basis and the same could be granted to anyone who was eligible as per the terms and conditions of the L1 wholesalers. Further, in order to circumvent even the relaxed criteria, it was allowed to the L-1 wholesalers to include manufacturers’ turnover in their turnover for meeting the eligibility criteria.

Though it appears fair and open opportunity that any entity qualifying the criterion could operate as L1 wholesaler, but the financial feasibility of the business depended on the manufacturers who would choose them as their distributor’.

The remand report said that the profitability and turnover of any wholesaler was dependent on the choices/decisions of the manufacturers with respect to whom to award their distributor business. “Thus, the manufacturers were in a dominant position to direct the unprecedented and exorbitantly high profit margin of 12% towards any select wholesaler. Further, the manufacturers seemingly were supposed to take this crucial decision on their own as per their choice. However, this investigation has revealed that Pernod Ricard, one of the biggest manufacturers having approximately 47% market share in the country, also a subject of the ongoing investigation, was in fact coerced/directed by Sh Vijay Nair (who used to introduce himself as OSD to the Excise Department), to give their wholesale distribution business to the M/s Indo Spirits (L1 wholesaler)”, the report read.

“Sh Vijay Nair, in conspiracy and collusion with Sh Dinesh Arora and the arrestee Sh Amit Arora, arm- twisted a few wholesalers to surrender their L1 licences and then coerced the manufacturers surrendered through that licence to choose the wholesalers of his choice and to direct the profit margins to persons of their choice (who were agreeable to fulfilling the kickback demands)”, the remand report read.

As per the remand report Vijay Nair is not an ordinary worker of the AAP, but a close associate of Sh Arvind Kejriwal, the CM of Delhi. “Further, Sh Vijay Nair, since 2020, has been residing in the Govt bungalow allotted to a Cabinet Minister of Delhi Govt, Sh Kailash Gehlot, part of GoM of Excise Policy 2021-22. Sh Vijay Nair does not have any other residence in Delhi. Irony being. Sh Gehlot lives at another private residence in Najafgarh”, the remand report said

The remand report read, “Amit Arora played crucial role in the whole scam. He has been instrumental in connecting the cartels of manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer to the political leadership and facilitating 6% kickbacks by working closely with Sh Dinesh Arora and Sh Vijay Nair who were working on behalf of AAP leaders”.