ED Strikes Again: AAP Minister Sanjeev Arora Raided Days After Ashok Mittal Searches; Kejriwal Fires Back

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted fresh searches at premises linked to Punjab minister and MLA Sanjeev Arora, his son Kavya Arora, and his two business partners across Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab in connection with an ongoing investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), marking yet another action against the AAP within days.

The latest move comes close on the heels of ED raids on properties associated with AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal, intensifying the political face-off between the Centre and the Opposition party.

The raids have been underway since early Friday, covering 13 premises in Haryana's Gurugram, Chandigarh and Punjab's Ludhiana and Jalandhar. The raids covered residences and offices of Sanjeev Arora, his business partners Hemanth Sood of Ludhiana and Chandrasekhar Aggarwal of Jalandhar.

What prompted ED action?

AAP leader Sanjeev Arora is reportedly the promoter of Hampton Sky Realty Ltd, a firm engaged in large-scale real estate and infrastructure projects in Punjab. His son, Kavya Arora, who currently serves as the managing director, is also under the scanner, with searches being conducted at his premises.

They are being probed over allegations of multiple financial irregularities linked to the company, including illegal land-use changes, inflated and fraudulent sales bookings to manipulate share prices, insider trading, and the alleged round-tripping of funds from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Role of Arora’s ‘partners’

Hemanth Sood, who runs a financial investment and stockbroker company, Findoc Finvest Private Limited, in Ludhiana, Gurgaon and Gujarat GIFT city, partnered with Sanjeev Arora and assisted him in the round tripping of his ill-got funds from the UAE and also in generating proceeds of crime from insider trading. Hemant Sood is also alleged to have assisted many more betting operators and hawala operators in laundering the crime money and round-tripping the same into India through the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route.

Chandra Sekhar Aggarwal, a Jalandhar-based businessman, originally started as a cricket bookie and later expanded his operations to hawala operations and started a bookie and betting platform by the name Khiladi Book and cheated thousands of poor people through betting platforms. Chandra Sekhar Aggarwal's “crime proceeds” allegedly generated and parked in the UAE have also been allegedly brought back into India through Findoc and invested in real estate through Sanjeev Arora.

Allegations against the Punjab minister

Sanjeev Arora is suspected to have been giving protection to the illegal betting operators in Punjab, through his political influence, to get a share of their profits and also using his companies and multiple entry operators to convert their unaccounted money into legitimate investments and thereby actively assisting in money laundering.

Sanjeev Arora's companies are also under scanner for booking multiple fake export bills and round-tripping funds from the UAE, and also booking fake purchases from non-existing GST entities.

The Punjab industries minister had earlier faced ED scrutiny in 2024 over alleged misuse of industrial land, which reportedly caused losses to the state exchequer.

Responding to the raids, Arora struck a measured tone, saying he would cooperate fully with the investigation. “As a responsible citizen, I will fully cooperate with the agencies… the truth will prevail,” he said in a statement.

‘Second raid in 3 days’: AAP cries foul

AAP leaders were quick to allege a pattern, claiming the central agency is being used as a political tool ahead of elections.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had earlier slammed the raids on Mittal, accusing the BJP of attempting to intimidate the party. Senior leader Saurabh Bhardwaj echoed the charge, calling the move “a clear pattern” linked to poll preparations.

AAP spokesperson Anurag Dhanda went a step further, alleging that the Centre had “crossed all limits” and was no longer even “pretending to follow democratic norms”.

Kejriwal’s sharp attack

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal launched a direct attack on the Centre, questioning the outcome of repeated ED raids on party leaders.

“This is 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? Not even a single rupee?” Kejriwal said in a post on X.

He further alleged that such actions reflect “petty politics” aimed at retaining power, adding that “the entire country is watching.”

The ED searches have sharpened tensions between the BJP and AAP, particularly in Punjab, where elections are on the horizon. While central agencies maintain that their actions are based on evidence, AAP continues to frame the raids as politically motivated.

(With ANI inputs)

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