ED conducts fresh raids on Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora; searches 5 locations including Chandigarh
CM Bhagwant Mann slams repeated ED raids on Arora, says 'Punjab will not bow down to pressure tactics'
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted fresh searches against Punjab Industries and Power Minister Sanjeev Arora as part of a money laundering investigation.
The raids were conducted at five premises in Delhi, Gurugram and Chandigarh, including the office of Hampton Sky Realty Limited and the residence of Sanjeev Arora.
Related news: ED attaches assets linked to Hampton Sky Realty, Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora in Rs 157 crore FEMA probe
The ED team raided Arora's official residence in Chandigarh at 5 am, according to sources. Around eight vehicles of ED officials were seen parked outside the residence during the operation.
The latest action marks the third raid at Arora’s residence.
In an official statement, the ED said it has detected a case of large-scale money laundering allegedly carried out by Sanjeev Arora through his company, involving fake GST purchases of mobile phones worth more than Rs 100 crore, followed by subsequent exports used to “round-trip” illegitimate funds from Dubai to India.
It stated that multiple fake GST purchase bills were obtained from non-existing firms in Delhi to claim fraudulent input tax credit (ITC), as well as refunds of GST on export credit and duty drawback, thereby causing loss to the exchequer and alleged personal enrichment.
In April, the ED had raided Arora and entities linked to him under the civil provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Arora had then said that he would fully cooperate with the probe agencies and that he was confident that the truth will prevail.
The MLA from Ludhiana West was raided by the ED in 2024 too in a money laundering case linked to alleged misuse of industrial land for residential projects. Arora was then a Rajya Sabha MP.
Meanwhile, reacting to the raids, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in a post on X, said that the ED had again conducted searches at Sanjeev Arora’s residence. He said it was the third time in a year and the second time in a month that such action had been taken. He added that despite repeated raids, nothing had been found so far.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mann further said that “Punjab is the land of Gurus and Bhagat Singh” and asserted that it would not bow down, adding that the state would “end such political actions”, referring to what he called an “ED-BJP alliance.”
आज फिरसे BJP की ED संजीव अरोड़ा के घर आई है। एक साल में ये तीसरी बार उनके घर BJP की ED आई है। और पिछले एक महीने में दूसरी बार। फिर भी कुछ नहीं मिला है इनको। मैं मोदी जी को बताना चाहता हूँ कि पंजाब गुरुओं की धरती है औरंगजेब भी नहीं झुका सका था। ये भगत सिंह की धरती है जो अंग्रेजों…
— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) May 9, 2026
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema alleged that the BJP won the West Bengal elections by using ED, SIR and Election Commission. After managing a win there, he alleged that they have now turned their attention to Punjab and will use similar tactics in the state as well.
“This is an attack on Punjabis. Earlier they tried to defame AAP president Aman Arora. Now a second raid in a month is being conducted at Sanjeev Arora’s premises,” he said.
AAP president Aman Arora questioned whether this was the BJP’s game plan for winning the Punjab elections. He said they are “not just targeting leaders, but also their friends and associates.”
He also stated that the search on Sanjeev Arora’s close associate Gaurav Dhir continued over the past two days.
