Punjab Minister Sanjeev Arora Arrested By ED In Rs 100 Crore Case

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday presented Punjab Minister Sanjeev Arora before the Gurugram sessions court, following his arrest in connection with an ongoing Rs 100 crore money laundering investigation linked to alleged fraudulent Goods and Services Tax (GST) transactions.

Earlier on Saturday, the ED arrested Punjab minister Arora after a day-long search operation carried out across multiple locations associated with him and his business entities. The raids were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. According to officials, ED teams initiated coordinated searches early on Saturday at five premises spread across Delhi, Gurugram and Chandigarh. Of these, four locations were directly linked to Arora and his associated entities, while one office premises belonged to Hampton Sky Realty Limited, which is also under the agency's scanner in the case.

Details of the Alleged Fraud

ED officials claim that Arora, through his company, generated fraudulent purchase invoices for mobile phones worth over Rs 100 crore from non-existent firms based in Delhi. These transactions were allegedly used to claim undue input tax credit (ITC), along with wrongful GST refunds on export credits and duty drawbacks.

Company's Response

Meanwhile, Hampton Sky Realty Limited issued an official statement in response to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) action and Arora's arrest, asserting that it has "full faith in the judiciary and the legal process." Presenting its position on the allegations, the company said it entered the mobile phone export business in May 2023 in line with the Centre's 'Make in India' initiative and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. It added that the UAE remains a major market for Indian mobile exports. The firm claimed that its export operations were legitimate, and it was a "victim of the GST fraud."

Political Reactions

The arrest has invited political reactions from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership. AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleged misuse of central agencies by the BJP-led Centre.

Addressing the media, Kejriwal claimed that agencies such as the ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were being used to target opposition leaders and force them to join the BJP. "Since this morning, ED raids are underway at the residence of Punjab Minister Sanjeev Arora. Since the Modi govt has come to power in the country, we have seen CBI and ED work not to stop corruption and money laundering, respectively, but work to break other parties and to threaten other political leaders and make them join the BJP," Kejriwal alleged."Raid by ED is an action in the same direction," the AAP chief added.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also condemned the ED raids and alleged that "Punjab is on the BJP's target."

AAP MP Sanjay Singh reacted strongly to the arrest of a Punjab minister and alleged misuse of central investigative agencies in opposition-ruled states ahead of elections. Singh told ANI, "ED is acting like a contract killer. State after state, raids are being done on rivals, and they are being jailed. This has become the trend of ED. Their experiment in other states is being replicated in Punjab by PM Modi, ahead of elections. Today, cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora has been arrested. Nothing was found from Sanjeev Arora in three raids. Despite that, he has been arrested because this is the election model of the BJP. I would like to tell PM Modi that his Aurangzeb-like policy will not work in Punjab." (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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