ED charge sheets Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora in ₹102 cr money laundering case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint (equivalent to a chargesheet) against Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora for his alleged involvement in an over ₹102 crores money laundering probe linked to alleged fraudulent Goods and Services Tax (GST) transactions, people in the know told ET.

Besides Arora, the ED has also charge sheeted Hampton Sky Realty Limited (HSRL), a company which Arora was a Chairman and Managing Director of.

ED's prosecution complaint, filed earlier this week, alleges that Arora played the "central and controlling role in causing Hampton Sky Realty Limited to enter into transactions based on fictitious procurement, false purchase documentation, and sham export arrangements".


By doing so, the complaint adds, Arora was "directly and knowingly involved in generating and handling property derived from criminal activity relating to the scheduled offences, namely bogus invoice-based transactions, use of forged or fabricated business documentation, cheating, conspiracy, and fraudulent claim of export-linked incentives".

The federal agency has alleged that Arora was "knowingly and actually involved in the generation, acquisition, possession, concealment, use, layering, routing, and projection of proceeds of crime as untainted property".

It adds that Arora's "role was not incidental or peripheral; rather, he was the principal architect, controller, and beneficiary of the laundering structure executed through HSRL and connected persons and entities".

The evidence further shows that Arora did not merely participate in the scheduled offence, but was actively involved in the subsequent processes and activities connected with the proceeds of crime, the complaint reads. It further alleges that Arora was directly involved in "causing fictitious purchase invoices to be introduced in the books of Hampton Sky Realty to create a false appearance of legitimate procurement and using the corporate banking channels of HSRL and associated entities for routing and layering tainted funds through intermediary concerns".

The agency has further alleged that Arora facilitated or caused receipt of export remittances from connected overseas entities against purported export transactions that were not genuine arm's-length sales.

ED has further alleged that Arora was involved in "causing movement of funds from HSRL to accommodation-entry providers and other connected entities as part of a layering and integration exercise and projecting such tainted receipts, incentives, refunds, and routed funds as legitimate business receipts, export proceeds, turnover, and lawful corporate funds of HSRL".

The agency has claimed that the proceeds of crime currently stand quantified at ₹102. 99 cr"arising from the fictitious export transactions undertaken through 43 shipping bills".

The complaint adds "further investigation to ascertain additional proceeds of crime and its further money trail is continuing and hence the proceeds of crime may increase".

The agency has claimed that its investigation has revealed that "during the relevant period (of commission of alleged money laundering), Sanjeev Arora exercised overall dominion and effective control over the affairs, management, finances, and business decisions of Hampton Sky Realty, including its mobile phone trading and export operations". It might be mentioned here that Arora was arrested by ED on May 9 and taken into custodial interrogation. He is currently in judicial custody and has filed a plea in the Punjab and Haryana HC seeking regular bail.