4 min readPanajiUpdated: May 18, 2026 10:01 PM IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested AAP leader Deepak Singla from Delhi in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to a Rs 150-crore bank fraud.
AAP has rejected the allegations against Singla and accused the BJP-led central government of using investigative agencies to target leaders of Opposition parties ahead of the Assembly election set to be held in Goa early next year.
Singla was taken into custody after the ED conducted searches at premises linked to him and other alleged hawala operators in Delhi and Goa on Monday morning. ED sources said that among the locations searched was a flat in Dona Paula near Panaji, where some of AAP’s organisation team reside.
The ED sources said the money laundering case pertains to a bank loan fraud in which Singla, along with some members of his family, are accused of defrauding the Oriental Bank of Commerce of more than Rs 150 crore. ED officials alleged that Singla is suspected of “handling the hawala operations” for the movement of funds for the party between Delhi and Goa.
Officials claimed the money was allegedly sent to “controlled firms in Singapore”.
“It is also suspected that such proceeds of crime are routed back to India through the hawala route, to be infused back in illegal activities. In relation to this PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) fraud, Singla was arrested today,” an ED source said.
Singla, AAP’s Goa co-incharge, contested the Delhi Assembly elections from Vishwas Nagar constituency in 2020 and 2025. In 2024, the ED had conducted searches at Singla’s residence in connection with the money laundering probe linked to the case.
Story continues below this ad
AAP on Monday slammed the central government, saying in a statement that the action against Singla was similar to the ED and CBI crackdowns in Bengal and Punjab. The party alleged that the BJP was “selectively” targeting leaders who refused to join the party.
In a post on X, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said, “Deepak Singla has not been arrested because he did anything wrong. He has been arrested because he was working against the BJP and refused to join the BJP. Deepak Singla is brave and is fighting for the country.”
AAP Goa in-charge and Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi said the ED arrested Singla “because he was building an organisation in Goa to fight against the BJP”.
“The entire country saw how the BJP used the ED against the Trinamool Congress during the West Bengal Assembly elections. People working with the election management agency, I-PAC, were sent to jail, and just before the elections, all the data of the Trinamool Congress was stolen through the ED. As soon as the elections ended, all those people were released from jail,” Atishi said.
Story continues below this ad
She said after Bengal, the BJP’s next attack began in Punjab, where repeated raids were conducted on AAP leaders. “The leaders who came under pressure and joined the BJP faced no action. But leaders like Sanjeev Arora, who clearly refused to join the BJP, were sent to jail. After Punjab, Goa has now become the BJP’s next target. The BJP is frightened that in the Goa Assembly elections to be held in February, people are going to throw them out of power. It is out of fear of the growing popularity of AAP that the ED is conducting raids today,” she said.
“In Goa, raids are not only being conducted on senior leaders, but also at the homes of several karyakartas (party workers). These raids on karyakartas and organisation in-charges are being carried out solely to steal their election data — exactly the same way the ED acted against the TMC in Bengal. All the data was stolen and handed over to the BJP. The same game is now being repeated in Goa,” she said.
