The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora from his official residence in G, soon after it carried out fresh raids against him and his associates allegedly linked to him as part of a fresh money laundering probe, drawing criticism from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which termed the move as “politically motivated”.
The arrest came after early morning searches at five locations, including the offices of Hampton Sky Realty Ltd led by Arora and his official residence in Chandigarh. According to officials, Arora was “uncooperative” during the investigation and will be shifted to Delhi.
The arrest, which happened after the central agency registered a fresh case against Arora under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), makes the 62-year-old leader the first minister in the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government to be taken into custody. Arora is AAP MLA for Ludhiana West assembly seat.
Read also | AAP’s Aroras face fire in Punjab: Minister’s arrest and state chief under lens as Mann claims BJP vendetta
On April 17, the ED raided Arora and his associated entities under the civil provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The investigation focuses on a complex $157.12 crore export scam involving fake invoices from companies not located in the Delhi-NCR region to generate artificial purchases of mobile phones. The latest investigation relates to ‘bogus’ GST purchases of mobile phones worth more than $100 crore and subsequent “back and forth” exports of alleged illicit money from Dubai to India, according to the ED.
Investigators allege a pattern of stumbling back and forth, alleging that $Rs 102.50 crore was transferred through two UAE-based shell entities – M/s Fortbel Telecom FZCO and M/s Dragon Global FZCO – before being returned to India as legitimate investments.
These attachment orders, issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Income Tax Act, provide for the freezing of all associated assets for a period of 180 days.
The AAP criticized the CEO’s action, with CM Mann calling it a “political vendetta” aimed at “engineering defections”.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal noted that the raids were aimed at breaking party ranks. “Modiji started daily raids on the Punjab DGs soon after the elections in Bengal ended. Modiji has been carrying out coercion in Punjab in the last few years and has mistreated Punjabis through various means,” he told reporters.
Taking aim at the BJP, state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said: “Immediately after the West Bengal elections, the ED shifted its focus to Punjab. The BJP is trying to replicate the same model of intimidation and political manipulation in Punjab. The ED initially targeted businessman and MP Ashok Mittal and pressured him to join the BJP. Soon after, the ED reached the residence of Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora. Sanjeev Arora clearly refused to join the BJP, and what followed was the ED,” state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, targeting the BJP. The entire country witnessed raids that continued throughout the day, followed by arrests.”
Meanwhile, Hampton Sky Realty Limited, which is linked to Arora, issued an official statement asserting that it has “full confidence in the judiciary and the legal process.” “The company presents its stand regarding the Enforcement Directorate (ED) action and the allegations leveled against it. We have full confidence in the judiciary and the legal process. We started mobile phone export business in May 2023 following the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and PLI scheme as factors promoting mobile phone exports. UAE is a major market for Indian mobile phone exports,” the statement read.
“We exported 44,471 genuine mobile phones and accessories. These included Apple iPhone, AirPods, Samsung and OnePlus devices. All the exports underwent customs and OEM verification. Referring to IMEI verification, the company said the unique IMEI number of each phone was verified. Apple and Samsung reportedly confirmed that the exported phones were genuine. The phones were activated overseas after the export,” it added.
Denying allegations of ‘fake export’: We reject the allegations of fake exports and back and forth. All export proceeds were received through banking channels. Suppliers were fully paid through banking channels,” the statement said, adding that the company was a “victim in a GST fraud case.”
“Fraud was an issue on the part of the supplier. She herself lodged an FIR in the matter. The FIR was registered at the contact point police station in Ludhiana.”
BJP responds
The BJP hit back at the APC, saying the party and its backer, Kejriwal, were upset because they knew their “days were numbered in Punjab”.
BJP spokesperson RB Singh said the corruption allegations against AAP leaders were baseless and claimed that it is Kejriwal, not Modi, who is carrying out “Aurangzeb-like” actions in Punjab. “Although Punjab Police does not take action against killings, drug mafia or sand mafia in the state, it is used to target political opponents,” he said.
