A special Gurugram court late on Saturday night sent Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora to seven days of Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in an alleged Rs 100-crore GST fraud-linked money laundering case, observing that the allegations against him are “very serious”.The ED had sought a 10-day remand after arresting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader following daylong raids at multiple locations linked to him and his business entities in Delhi, Gurugram and Chandigarh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).According to ED officials, the probe centres on alleged fake GST purchases of mobile phones worth more than Rs 100 crore. Investigators claim fraudulent purchase invoices were generated through non-existent firms based in Delhi to avail undue input tax credit (ITC), export-linked GST refunds and duty drawback benefits.The agency also searched the premises of Hampton Sky Realty Limited (HSRL), which is under the scanner in the case. ED officials alleged that the transactions caused substantial losses to the exchequer and were used to route illegitimate funds.Arora was brought by agency officials to Gurugram from Chandigarh by road overnight and was produced in the Sessions-cum-special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court of Judge Narender Sura. The ED has alleged that its case was against HSRL, linked entities and Arora, who was the “beneficial owner and controller” of the company along with his family members.The company, during the 2023-24 financial year, sold mobile phones worth Rs 157.12 crore to several local and overseas entities, and, as the CMD of the company, Arora was responsible for the conduct of the business of the company, which undertook alleged illicit transactions, the ED told the court.It alleged that the company, in connivance with its directors, employees and linked persons, used “a network of shell entities” to generate “fake” purchase invoices and used them to show “bogus” sales and exports.“Since the allegations against the accused are very serious and the ED is seeking to decode the money trail, role of the accused, vis-a-vis his persons/aides, who facilitated the offence of money laundering, so as to get to know as to how the accused were successful in generating proceeds of crime, in opinion of the court, a valid ground exists for the applicant for custodial interrogation of the accused,” Judge Sura said in his order.The order said the ED “has a good and sufficient reason” to claim Arora’s custody for interrogation.Arora’s lawyer, Arjun, said, “The ED did not actually investigate the matter. They registered the case on May 5 and arrested him on the morning of May 9. This is politically motivated and orchestrated. No investigation was conducted. The ED came directly and arrested the minister. We have not received the FIR to date. The ED filed the FIR during the search proceedings. The court has fixed May 16 as the next date of appearance in Gurugram.”