Chandigarh: Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted a search and survey operation at multiple locations in Punjab and Chandigarh as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC), officials said. The corporation is tasked with promoting industries in Punjab.The ruling AAP in Punjab reacted sharply, accusing the BJP-led Centre of “misusing” central agencies to defame Punjab govt and CM Bhagwant Mann.In a press statement, AAP said, “The massive public anger against ‘ED Party’ (BJP), as witnessed during the Jantar Mantar protest, has clearly rattled Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Instead of addressing the growing public outrage, the ED Party (BJP) has chosen to misuse central agencies and pursue political vendetta against its opponents.”ED raided about 11 premises in Chandigarh, in addition to locations in Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar and Gurdaspur in Punjab, officials said, adding that a survey was conducted under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the PSIEC office in Chandigarh, also known as ‘Udyog Bhawan’.The premises searched included those of PSIEC executive director Bhai Sukhdeep Singh, retired PSIEC chief general manager Surendra Pal Singh, retired general manager Jaswinder Singh Randhawa, another retired officer named Savtej Singh apart from some other corporation officials, property dealers and ‘benamidars’ (in whose name a benami asset is being held).The PMLA case stems from a March 2024 FIR registered by Punjab Vigilance Bureau in Mohali on charges that certain PSIEC officials and private persons connived with property dealers to allot expensive plots in the names of relatives and friends.ED is investigating charges that fake firms and fraudulent addresses were used by private persons while applying for industrial plots given through PSIEC. Private persons accomplished this through “close connections” with some PSIEC officials, according to official sources.The agency is also investigating the alleged role of PSIEC officials and private persons for “diversion” and change of land use of industrial plots allotted in Ludhiana by some real estate developers and some prominent business groups. The real estate developers “diverted” the industrial plot to residential use generating “windfall” profit for themselves while causing a loss to the state exchequer, the officials said.They said a company linked to arrested Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora is also under ED’s scanner as part of this probe. Arora was arrested by ED a few months ago in a money laundering case and is currently in jail. He has denied any wrongdoing.A livid AAP said despite repeated investigations, central agencies found no evidence against Mann, so “ED Party has now resorted to targeting and maligning people associated with him”. “The ED Party (BJP) is trying to achieve through propaganda what it could not achieve through investigations,” it said.
