Delhi Police has arrested two businessmen today, one Mukesh and another Sudhanshu Bansal, for transferring money to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) through shell companies. The two men are accused of procuring Director Identification Number (DIN) using fabricated documents and photographs and using the firms for money laundering and other illegal activities. The two men will soon be produced in court.
https://twitter.com/rajshekharTOI/status/1296731421181001728?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe name of Sudhanshu Bansal first propped up when allegations of fraud were first made against the Aam Aadmi Party in 2015. A press release by the AAP Volunteers’ Action Manch (AVAM) claimed that four donations worth Rs. 50 lakhs each were made at the same time at 12 am on the 5th of April 2014. All these companies were claimed to have given fake addressed and it was alleged that none of these companies are engaged in any business.
https://twitter.com/SureshNakhua/status/562980314033979393?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe same allegations were raised by rebel AAP leader Kapil Mishra two years later. On the 14th of May, 2017, Mishra made the same allegations that Rs. 2 crore was transferred to the AAP in four instalments through four shell companies. However, after he raised the allegations, Mukesh came forward and claimed that he had made the donations.
There is some confusion regarding the surname of Mukesh. At some places, he is addressed as Mukesh Kumar and on other occasions, as Mukesh Sharma. In his statement, Mukesh claimed that all the allegations raised were false and the money that was donated was ‘genuine’. When he was asked to comment on the fact that the address of these companies were false, he claimed that no company was found at these places because that was how he wanted it.
https://twitter.com/AAPExpress/status/865119847335641089?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwMukesh further said that he wished to donate the money without attracting too much attention as he was not greedy for anything and neither did he want anything in return. He claimed to have donated the money because he believed that AAP has come into politics to serve the poor. It appears to be the same video that was retweeted by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in defence of the party.
“That video will come back to bite Arvind Kejriwal because I can show that Mukesh Kumar is the sacrificial lamb here and that he didn’t donate Rs 2 crore”, Kapil Mishra had said then. He said, “I challenge Arvind Kejriwal to tell Income Tax Department that the donation was received from Mukesh Kumar. Mukesh Kumar’s company is a bank defaulter. How can he donate Rs 2 crore to Aam Aadmi Party?”
“Mukesh Kumar’s company is also VAT defaulter. Instead of paying VAT to Delhi government, the company donated money to AAP. Delhi government had issued notice to SKN associates, which later donated money to the party,” he stated further. Kapil Mishra further claimed that only two of the cheques were signed by Mukesh which showed that he had donated only Rs. 1 crore. He went on to question where the other Rs.1 crore came from.
“Arvind Kejriwal is keeping quiet despite me providing clinching evidence of his corrupt practices. I have also presented evidence on the Hawala charge last Sunday. It has been one week, but no one from the AAP has come up with any clarification. It is evident from this presentation how AAP forged letter heads to shell companies. Even the letter heads were fake,” he continued.
The authorities are currently investigating the matter and it remains to be seen whether any senior functionaries of the AAP were involved in the alleged money laundering as alleged by Kapil Mishra.