Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora was remanded to judicial custody until 1 June by a Gurugram court on Monday in connection with a ₹100-crore money-laundering case linked to alleged GST fraud at a firm he once headed, according to livemint.com.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Arora in Chandigarh on 9 May after probing suspected fake invoices and circular trading at the company during 2019-2021. Investigators told the court that Arora, who served as the firm’s managing director before entering politics, used the entity to claim fraudulent input-tax credits and route illicit funds. The ED’s remand application, cited by livemint.com, alleges that the proceeds were laundered through multiple shell entities and parked in immovable assets.
The case lands at a sensitive moment for the Aam Aadmi Party, which governs Punjab and has positioned itself as a graft-free alternative ahead of the 2027 state elections. The ₹100-crore figure dwarfs recent ED actions against opposition leaders—last year the agency attached ₹38 crore in a Jharkhand mining case and ₹52 crore in a Karnataka irrigation scam—suggesting investigators are escalating ticket sizes. For the GST intelligence ecosystem, the probe also tests the 2023 amendments that widened money-laundering definitions to include tax fraud, according to tax practitioners quoted by livemint.com.
Arora’s counsel has filed a bail plea slated for hearing on 26 May, while the ED has sought an additional 14-day custodial remand to confront him with digital evidence and co-accused statements. The agency has until 15 June to file a supplementary prosecution complaint; if the court takes cognisance, trial must begin within 60 days under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Observers will watch whether the minister resigns from the cabinet before the next assembly session begins on 10 June.