The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday took Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora to its Delhi headquarters after arresting him in an alleged money laundering and fake export case linked to transactions worth Rs 157.12 crore.
According to reports, the ED team arrived at Arora’s government residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh early Saturday morning and conducted searches for several hours. Following nearly 10 hours of questioning, the agency escorted the minister to Delhi around 5 PM in vehicles bearing Chandigarh and Haryana registration numbers. Further interrogation will now take place at the ED headquarters in Delhi, where he is expected to remain in ED custody overnight.
The ED carried out simultaneous raids at multiple locations linked to Arora and his associates in Chandigarh, Delhi and Gurugram under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The agency has alleged that firms linked to Arora were involved in fake mobile purchase sales and bogus exports amounting to nearly Rs 157.12 crore through a network of shell companies. Investigators claim the alleged transactions were used for illegal round-tripping of funds from Dubai to India.
According to the ED, fake GST purchase bills were allegedly procured from non-existent Delhi-based firms to claim fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC), GST refunds and duty drawback benefits, causing losses to the government exchequer while generating personal gains.
ED sources further stated that bank accounts, demat holdings and immovable assets linked to Hampton Sky Realty Limited and entities associated with Sanjeev Arora have been provisionally attached. The attachment orders were reportedly issued on April 19 under provisions of FEMA and the Income Tax Act for a period of 180 days to facilitate the ongoing investigation.
The probe intensified after search and seizure operations conducted on April 17 at Hampton Sky Realty Limited’s premises in Gurugram’s Udyog Vihar, offices of Findoc Finvest Private Limited and locations linked to Sanjeev Arora, Kavya Arora, Hemant Sood and Chander Shekhar.
The ED has also alleged that out of the total declared exports of Rs 157.12 crore, transactions worth Rs 102.50 crore were routed through two UAE-based entities — Fortbell Telecom FZCO and Dragon Global FZCO. Investigators suspect round-tripping of funds through foreign entities, allegedly violating provisions of FEMA and export regulations.
Properties attached in the case reportedly include multiple bank accounts of Hampton Sky Realty Limited, demat and mutual fund holdings linked to Kavya Arora, and immovable properties located in Ludhiana, Mohali and Gurugram.
The agency is continuing its investigation into the financial transactions and activities linked to the firms and individuals involved in the case.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly reacted to the arrest of Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora and accused BJP led Centre of using central agencies like the ED, CBI and Income Tax Department to target opposition leaders and states addressing media shortly after Sanjeev Arora’s arrest Mann said Punjab has “always been treated unfairly” by Centre no matter what the issue is and claimed that BJP was now trying to create pressure in Punjab through repeated raids and investigations but added that “Punjab is not a state that gets scared.”