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ED raids Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora’s premises in FEMA probe
The operation, conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), involves allegations of money laundering, round-tripping of funds from the UAE, and links to illegal betting syndicates
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out searches at the residences and offices of Punjab cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora, his son Kavya Arora, and his business partners across 13 locations in Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh.
The operation, conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), involves allegations of money laundering, round-tripping of funds from the UAE, and links to illegal betting syndicates.
Arora, who holds the industries, commerce and local bodies portfolios, is an industrialist-turned-politician.
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann termed the raids an “attack on democracy,” accusing the BJP-led central government of using federal agencies to intimidate the Aam Aadmi Party. Addressing a hurriedly convened press conference, Mann said that non-BJP governments are being increasingly targeted. “Government agencies are targeting the AAP because it is growing very fast and has become a national party in a short span of 10 years,” he added.
The ED action unfolded while Arora was travelling to Amsterdam, the Netherlands capital, as part of the state government’s Invest Punjab initiative. Responding to the development, Arora posted on X: “An action by the Enforcement Directorate took place at my premises. As a responsible citizen, I will fully cooperate with the agencies and I am confident that the truth will prevail.”
The latest action comes two days after the ED raided AAP Rajya Sabha member Ashok Kumar Mittal, his family and educational institutions run by them in Punjab and Haryana as part of a FEMA case.
Allegations of round-tripping, betting links
Investigators are examining multiple financial irregularities linked to Hampton Sky Realty Ltd, a firm promoted by Arora where his son, Kavya, serves as managing director. The agency alleges that the firm engaged in illegal land-use changes, fraudulent sales bookings to manipulate share prices, and insider trading.
According to officials, Arora’s business partner, Hemant Sood of Findoc Finvest, assisted in round-tripping funds from the UAE and laundering proceeds from insider trading. Sood is alleged to have assisted hawala operators in channeling crime money into India via the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route.
The probe has also linked the minister to Jalandhar-based businessman Chander Shekhar Aggarwal, an accused in the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev App scam who reportedly operates the ‘Khiladi Book’ betting platform. ED officials suspect Arora used political influence to provide protection to illegal betting operators in exchange for a share of profits. The agency alleges these funds were converted into legitimate investments through fake purchases from non-existing GST entities and invested in real estate via Arora’s companies.
AAP national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said this was the second ED raid at the residence of an AAP leader within three days. “Will the Prime Minister tell us how much black money has been recovered from the countless raids conducted so far at the residences of AAP” leaders? Not even a single rupee? The entire country is watching how petty politics you are indulging in just for the sake of power,” Kejriwal posted on X.
Extensive searches across Ludhiana premises
In Ludhiana, ED teams arrived at Arora’s residence in Gurdev Nagar early in the morning, with central security forces deployed at the site.
This is not Arora’s first brush with the agency. In October 2024, the ED conducted extensive raids at his properties in connection with an alleged land fraud case.
On October 7, 2024, the agency searched 17 premises linked to Arora and his company, Ritesh Properties and Industries Limited (RPIL), formerly known as Hampton Sky Realty. These included the luxury residential project ‘Hampton Homes’ and Hampton Court Business Park on Chandigarh Road.
According to the ED, the company had been allotted industrial land by the Punjab government under specific conditions to promote industrial activity, which were allegedly violated by altering land use for residential and commercial projects without permission.
Apart from his business interests in real estate and fashion, Arora is also associated with charitable work and runs the Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust in Ludhiana.
(With inputs by Navrajdeep Singh in Jalandhar)
