Mann, Kejriwal Visit Bhondsi Jail, Meet Minister in Rs 100-Crore GST Case:

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal met Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora at Bhondsi jail on Monday. Arora is currently in judicial custody in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore fake GST billing and money laundering case.

Mann and Kejriwal reached the jail around 2 pm and left about 40 minutes later. Their convoy was accompanied by vehicles from Haryana, Delhi and Punjab Police. Neither leader spoke to the media after the meeting. The two leaders had also met Arora at the jail on May 23.

Mann and Kejriwal assured Arora of their support during the meeting. They also discussed preparations for the Punjab elections.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Arora on May 9 from his Chandigarh residence after conducting raids in Gurgaon, Chandigarh and other parts of Punjab. He has been in judicial custody since his arrest.

The ED filed a chargesheet before a PMLA court in Gurgaon on July 6. The agency has accused Arora of being the alleged main person behind a fake iPhone export scam.

According to the ED, iPhones were allegedly shown as being exported to Dubai using fake purchase bills and export documents. The agency claims that these transactions were used to move and launder money.

The ED's chargesheet alleges that around Rs 100 crore was shown as money received from Dubai through fake export transactions. This included about Rs 87 crore in alleged export payments and Rs 16 crore in IGST and duty drawback refunds.

The agency has alleged that fake purchases, overseas buyers and the movement of money between different accounts were used to carry out the transactions. The alleged iPhone sales were worth more than Rs 150 crore, while phones valued at over Rs 100 crore were allegedly exported to a Dubai-based company that invested in Arora's real estate firm, Hampton Sky Realty Ltd.

The ED has also attached assets worth more than Rs 55 crore linked to Arora and Hampton Sky Realty Ltd. These include bank accounts, fixed deposits, land, commercial properties and residential apartments in Ludhiana, Gurgaon and Chandigarh.

The chargesheet also mentions an ICICI Bank account that allegedly received more than Rs 100 crore in export proceeds. Arora was listed as one of the account's signatories.