Punjab minister sent to 7-day ED custody in ₹100cr PMLA case

Gurgaon: Punjab industries minister Sanjeev Arora was remanded in seven-day custody of Enforcement Directorate (ED) by a city court on Saturday in a money laundering case linked to alleged GST irregularities in mobile phone trade transactions.Arora, an AAP MLA from Ludhiana West, was produced before judge Narender Sura of the sessions-cum-special PMLA court late on Saturday evening after being arrested under Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Officials aware of the proceedings said ED told the court that custodial interrogation was needed to examine financial records, trace transaction flows, and verify the role of firms and individuals linked to the case.ED said it’s probing fake invoicing and suspicious trade transactions worth more than Rs 100 crore. The agency claimed shell entities were used to claim wrongful input tax credit and other GST-related benefits.During arguments on the remand plea, Arora’s legal team opposed extended custody and told the court that the minister had cooperated with investigators. According to people present during the hearing, the defence counsel also challenged the grounds for arrest and political targeting.The court granted the ED seven days of custody for further investigation.The arrest came after ED searches at premises in Chandigarh, Delhi, and Gurgaon linked to people and companies under investigation in the case.