The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Minister Mr Sanjeev Arora, Minister for Industries of Punjab, from his official residence in Chandigarh in what could be the party’s biggest political and legal setback, becoming the first sitting minister of a Bhagwant Mann-led government to be arrested by a central probe agency.
The arrest followed the extensive raids in over 10 locations in Punjab, Chandigarh and Haryana. Searches were conducted on Arora’s property, corporate offices of Hampton Sky Realty Limited and any property that was connected to Arora’s associates. This is the third ED raid on Arora in a year and the second in a month, adding to the pressure on the minister.
Officials said that the probe was connected to alleged fraudulent invoice generation through shell companies across the Delhi-NCR region to the tune of ₹157 crore under the guise of Goods and Services Tax and exports. The companies reportedly availed input tax credit and bogus export refunds for non-existent mobile transactions. The agency also alleges that almost ₹102.5 crore ran through a network of shell companies in UAE.
The ED has already placed a financial and foreign exchange law attachment on Arora’s bank accounts, demat holdings and immovable properties associated with him and Hampton Sky Realty before his arrest on Saturday.
The arrest comes days after the ED’s money-laundering and land scam probes against Suntec City and Altus Space Builders, two real estate companies based in Mohali, named the Punjab AAP cabinet minister and president of the party, Aman Arora.
Political connections are also suspected between real estate operators and top AAP officials, including allegations of “political patronage and protection” through intermediaries. From the time of the raid, it was reported that officials found and documented instances of bundles of ₹500 notes being dropped from a high rise building in Mohali in the middle of the night, which were later widely shared on social media, adding to controversy around the raid.