ED claimed that Kavitha was a key member of the South Group which paid at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to AAP leaders. (Twitter)
Kavitha’s summon comes after Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai was arrested in connection with the case on Monday night
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha for questioning in a Delhi excise money laundering case on Thursday, officials said. She has been asked to appear at the agency’s headquarters in the national capital on March 9.
Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader for over seven hours in Hyderabad, in connection with the case.
Kavitha’s summon comes after Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai was arrested in connection with the case on Monday night.
In the remand report filed in a Delhi court on Tuesday, the ED stated that Pillai, one of the key persons in the entire scam involving payments of huge kickbacks and the formation of the biggest cartel of the South Group, acted as the benami of Kavitha.
A Delhi court on Tuesday sent Pillai to ED custody till March 13 and liquor baron Amandeep Dhall, also arrested in connection with the case, to judicial custody till March 21.
According to the agency, South Group comprises Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Group), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MP, Ongole), his son Raghav Magunta, K. Kavitha (MLC, Telangana) and others.
The South Group was being represented by Arun Pillai, Abhishek Boinpalli and Butchi Babu.
The ED had earlier said that the South Group gave kickbacks of Rs 100 crore to AAP leaders.
According to the remand report, Arun Pillai was involved in forming a cartel of manufacturers, wholesalers and multiple retail zones.
Arun Pillai is a partner in Indo Spirits. In this partnership firm, Arun Pillai represented the interests of K. Kavitha.
Arun Pillai and another person have revealed the same in their statements. Arun Pillai on paper invested Rs 3.40 crore in Indo Spirits. As revealed in the investigation, out of this amount, Rs 1 crore was given to Arun Pillai on the instructions of Kavitha.
In exchange for kickbacks given by the South Group to Vijay Nair and AAP, Indo Spirits was made the wholesaler of Pernod Ricard which made it one of the most profitable L1. Thus the fund of Rs 3.40 crore which used to show investment in Indo Spirits (a special purpose vehicle to recoup the kickbacks paid by the South Group and channel the illegal gains) is proceeds of crime, the ED added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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