CHANDIGARH/JALANDHAR — The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jalandhar Zonal Office, has launched a massive crackdown in a money laundering investigation involving former Punjab Minister of Industries and Commerce, Sunder Sham Arora, his son Parteek Arora, and various associates.
According to an official statement issued by the ED, search operations were conducted on November 2 and November 3 across 14 locations in Punjab and Chandigarh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Premises raided include residential properties of Sunder Sham Arora in Hoshiarpur, M/s Shivam Hospital in Hoshiarpur, and commercial/residential establishments linked to M/s SRG Builders and Promoters Pvt Ltd, M/s GRG Developers and Promoters LLP, M/s Gulmohar Township India Pvt Ltd, along with their promoters, directors, and associates in Chandigarh and Mohali.
Origin of Case: The probe stems from an FIR registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, regarding disproportionate assets amassed by the former minister.
Notably, Arora was previously arrested red-handed on October 15, 2022, in Zirakpur while offering a ₹1 crore bribe (including a ₹50 lakh cash advance) to a senior Vigilance Bureau officer to settle pending inquiries.
Misuse of Official Position: Investigators revealed that during his tenure as the Minister of Industries and Commerce from March 2017 to September 2021, Arora exercised direct control over the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC).
He allegedly extended undue favors to private real estate players in transferring high-value PSIEC industrial plots, in return acquiring hidden stakes in real estate entities under his son’s name.
The Mohali Industrial Plot Scam
The ED’s findings detail irregularities concerning Industrial Plot No. A-32, Phase 8, Mohali. Originally allotted by PSIEC to M/s JCT Electronics (now bankrupt), the plot was acquired by M/s GRG Developers and Promoters LLP for ₹90.56 crore via an auction conducted by ARCIL in February 2020.
Dues Evaded: Although PSIEC was legally entitled to 50% of the sale value as unearned increase, alongside enhanced land cost and transfer fees under the lease deed, these dues were never fully paid.
Official Complicity: Even though a tripartite agreement between PSIEC, ARCIL, and GRG was canceled in August 2021, authorities took no steps to cancel the lease deed or resume the plot.
Instead, then-Minister Sunder Sham Arora approved proposals for post-facto approvals concerning unearned increase calculations and enhanced fees, remaining directly involved in the plot's affairs. Bank records confirm that Arora, via his son Parteek Arora, heavily invested in purchasing this plot.
Subdivision and Violations: Investigators found that prior to taking possession and obtaining mandatory approvals from PSIEC and RERA, the plot was illegally subdivided and sold to third parties, defeating the original purpose of establishing industry on government-allotted land and generating proceeds of crime.
Web of Front Companies and Financial Flows
Further scrutiny uncovered an intricate network of financial transactions and corporate maneuvering:
Shareholding Linkages: In September 2020, Parteek Arora acquired a 35% shareholding in M/s SRG Builders and Promoters Pvt Ltd—a sister concern of Deepak Garg and Devi Dayal Garg (promoters of M/s GRG Developers and Promoters LLP). Parteek is also a partner alongside GRG promoters and family members in entities like M/s Aggarwal Buildtech, M/s SS Developers, and M/s Land Developers.
Suspicious Fund Transfers: M/s Gulmohar Township India Pvt Ltd began channeling payments to M/s Signify Innovations India Ltd starting August 2020, dishing out ₹27.5 crore even before an "Agreement to Sell" was officially executed on October 23, 2020—long before mandatory PSIEC NOCs were secured.
Close Associate Funding: Bank account analysis further indicated that plot payments and stamp duty registration costs were substantially funded by Sanjeev Kumar Juneja (a close associate of Jagdeep Singh, Director of M/s Gulmohar Township India Pvt Ltd), who funneled approximately ₹28.65 crore into the company between August 2020 and February 2021.
During the coordinated search operations, the ED recovered and seized mobile phones, incriminating files, property deeds, records relating to PSIEC plots, various digital devices, and issued orders freezing multiple bank lockers.
The ED stated that further investigation into the broader nexus and money trail is actively underway.
