Punjab cabinet minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjeev Arora has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after the agency raided his official residence at Chandigarh on Saturday morning.
The ED’s actions were in link to investigations into alleged money laundering, FEMA violations, land-related matters and suspicious financial transactions.
Raids were also conducted in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Gurugram
The investigation is also probing his family members and some of the offices associated with his company. His son has also been arrested.
The raid lasted about 7 hours on Saturday. The ED was searching for evidence related to fake GST purchase bills related to mobile phones and money laundering worth Rs 100 crore. The agancy sid thatit obtained multiple fake GST purchase bulls have been obtained from non-existent firms in Delhi, which were used to claim fake ITC. They also reportedly found a refund of GST on export credit and a duty drawback, thereby causing a loss to the exchequer and personal enrichment.
In Haryana, the premises of a company called Hampton Sky Realty Limited were raided.
The central agency also said that they registered a new case under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Arora, 62, is an MLA from the Ludhiana West Assembly seat.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accused the BJP-led central government of using the ED and CBI as weapons to achieve political goals. He said that after Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar , Karnataka and West Bengal, Punjab is now their target.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh has also attacked the central government. He called the ED a 'contract killer' for the BJP and said that the central agencies were being used to defame opposition leaders.