The court observed that the allegations against the minister were “very serious” and that the central agency needed to interrogate him to trace the money trail
AAP leader and Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora. (Facebook)
A special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) here on Sunday remanded Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for seven days in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore GST fraud-linked money laundering case.
While granting custodial remand, the court observed that the allegations against the minister were “very serious” and that the central agency needed to interrogate him to trace the money trail.
Arora, a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party and MLA from Ludhiana West, was arrested by the ED on Saturday evening from his official residence in Chandigarh following fresh searches conducted as part of a new money laundering probe.
Opposing the remand plea, Arora’s counsel alleged that the case was “false and frivolous”, claiming it had been “cooked up” without any prima facie evidence and that the arrest was unwarranted.
The ED told the court that Arora was allegedly non-cooperative during the investigation and that custodial interrogation was essential to unravel the alleged proceeds of crime. The agency had earlier carried out searches at five locations, including the corporate offices of Hampton Sky Realty Ltd, a Gurugram-based firm in which Arora is a director and shareholder.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Hampton Sky Realty Ltd denied any wrongdoing, asserting that it had full faith in the legal process and was cooperating with all statutory authorities.
The arrest has triggered sharp criticism from the ruling AAP in Punjab, which termed the action politically motivated. The case marks the first instance of a sitting minister in the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government being taken into custody by the ED.
According to the agency, the latest investigation relates to alleged fake GST purchases of mobile phones worth over Rs 100 crore and their subsequent export to allegedly “round-trip” illicit funds from Dubai to India.
The ED is also probing a larger Rs 157.12-crore export-linked scam involving fake invoices generated through non-existent firms in the Delhi-NCR region.
Earlier, on April 17, the ED had searched premises linked to Arora and his associates under the civil provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The agency has indicated that further investigation is underway and more questioning may follow.
Punjab, India, India
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