ED Raid in Punjab: ED Conducts Raids at Premises Linked to AAP MLA and Minister Sanjeev Arora

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday, April 17, conducted searches at premises linked to Punjab MLA and Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora and others as part of an ongoing investigation, news agency IANS reported.

Residential and official premises of Arora, his son Kavya Arora—linked to a company named Hampton Sky Realty Ltd.—and Hemant Sood of Findoc Finvest in Ludhiana, along with an alleged bookie, Chandrasekhar Aggarwal, in Jalandhar, were covered during the searches, officials said.

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ED teams were provided security by personnel from a central paramilitary force. Arora, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Ludhiana West, is reportedly abroad on official work.

Arora was also raided by the ED in 2024. At the time, the agency had stated that companies linked to him and other entities caused losses to the state government and generated large proceeds of crime by allegedly misusing industrial land for residential projects.

#WATCH | Punjab | Visuals from outside the residence of Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora in Ludhiana, where the Enforcement Directorate has been conducting searches since early morning.

Simultaneous raids are also underway at several other locations linked to him. pic.twitter.com/noAmXxhlyW

— ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2026

According to the ED, Arora’s company is under scrutiny for multiple alleged irregularities, including illegal change of land use in Punjab, fraudulent and inflated sales to boost share prices, insider trading, round-tripping of funds, and routing illegal betting money from the UAE to India.

A few days ago, the federal agency also conducted FEMA searches at premises linked to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal and his educational institutions in Punjab and Haryana.

Hemant Sood runs a financial investment and stock brokerage firm, M/s Findoc Finvest Private Limited, with operations in Ludhiana, Gurugram and Gujarat’s GIFT City. He is alleged to have partnered with Arora and assisted in round-tripping funds from the UAE, as well as generating proceeds of crime through insider trading. Sood is also accused of aiding betting and hawala operators in laundering money and routing it into India through the FPI route.

Chandrasekhar Aggarwal, a Jalandhar-based businessman, allegedly began as a cricket bookie before expanding into hawala operations. He is accused of running a betting platform named “Khiladi Book” and defrauding people. The ED alleges that proceeds of crime generated by him were routed through Findoc and invested in real estate via Arora-linked entities.

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The ED further alleged that Arora may have provided protection to illegal betting operators in Punjab using his political influence in exchange for a share of profits. He is also suspected of using his companies and multiple entry operators to convert unaccounted money into legitimate investments, thereby facilitating money laundering.

The agency has also alleged that companies linked to Arora were involved in generating fake export bills, round-tripping funds from the UAE, and booking bogus purchases from non-existent GST entities.