ED arrests Punjab Cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora in Rs 100 crore money-laundering case
The ED searches on premises linked to minister Sanjeev Arora were conducted as part of a money-laundering investigation linked to alleged fake GST transactions and exports.
The agency had earlier raided premises linked to Sanjeev Arora in October 2024, in connection with an alleged land fraud and money laundering case. (File Photo) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Punjab Cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora in an alleged money laundering case worth Rs 100 crore. He was arrested during ongoing searches at his official residence, near the chief minister’s residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh.
The ED carried out searches at five premises in Delhi, Gurgaon, and Chandigarh linked to Arora and his company. The action comes as Punjab continues to witness a series of searches by the central agency on leaders and people linked to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Sources said the searches were conducted at the office premises of Hampton Sky Realty Limited and at Arora’s residence as part of a money-laundering investigation linked to alleged fake GST transactions and exports.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann slammed the search operation. “Today, once again, the BJP’s ED has come to Sanjeev Arora’s house. In one year, this is the third time the BJP’s ED has come to his house. And in the last month, the second time. Yet, they haven’t found anything,” he said.
“I want to tell (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji that Punjab is the land of the Gurus, which even (Mughal emperor) Aurangzeb could not subdue. This is the land of Bhagat Singh, who never bowed before the British…Punjab will never bow to Modi’s tactics. The end of this unethical alliance of ED-BJP will begin from Punjab itself,” he added.
According to ED sources, the agency has detected “a large-scale money laundering operation allegedly carried out through Arora’s company involving fake GST purchases of mobile phones worth more than Rs 100 crore and subsequent exports aimed at round-tripping illegitimate funds from Dubai to India”.
Sources alleged that multiple fake GST purchase bills were procured from non-existent firms in Delhi to claim fake input tax credit (ITC), GST refunds on export credit, and duty drawback benefits, allegedly causing losses to the exchequer and leading to personal enrichment.
The agency had earlier raided premises linked to Sanjeev Arora in October 2024, in connection with an alleged land fraud and money laundering case. Sanjeev Arora had earlier stated that he would cooperate with the probe.
At that time, the ED had searched multiple premises linked to Hampton Sky Realty, formerly known as Ritesh Properties and Industries Limited, and alleged illegal change of land use, fraudulent bookings and generation of proceeds of crime.
The agency had also alleged that companies linked to Arora were under the scanner for booking fake export bills and purchases from non-existent GST entities. Friday’s raids were part of a wider probe into alleged financial irregularities involving the round-tripping of funds from the UAE, insider trading and routing of illegal money into India through shell entities and fake commercial transactions, sources said.
The ED had also conducted searches linked to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal and his educational institutions. Mittal, founder of Lovely Professional University, had switched to the BJP, triggering speculation within political circles over mounting pressure from central agencies.
The latest action comes amid heightened ED activity in Punjab. On Thursday, the agency linked builder Gaurav Dhir to Punjab AAP president Aman Arora in a money-laundering case after searches at premises associated with Dhir and others.
The ED action assumes political significance, coming at a time when the AAP government in Punjab has repeatedly accused the BJP-led Centre of using investigative agencies to target Opposition leaders ahead of elections.
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