- District court in Gurugram granted probe agency ED seven days custody of Punjab Minister Sanjeev Arora
- ED alleges suspicious overseas remittances linked to fake mobile phone exports worth Rs 157 crore
- Company Hampton Sky Realty showed large sales to UAE firms, linked to non-existent suppliers
A District and Sessions court in Gurugram has granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seven days' custody of Punjab Minister and businessman Sanjeev Arora in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to suspicious overseas remittances and purported bogus exports of mobile phones.
According to the remand order accessed by NDTV, Arora was produced before the court at around 11:20 pm on Friday night. While the ED had sought 10 days' custodial interrogation, the court granted seven days of ED custody.
In its remand note, the ED informed the court that searches and seizure operations were carried out at the premises of Hampton Sky Realty Pvt Ltd following credible inputs regarding suspicious inward remittances allegedly received in the guise of fake exports.
The agency alleged that during the financial year 2023-24, the company showed sales of mobile phones worth nearly Rs 157 crore to multiple domestic and overseas entities. Of this amount, around Rs 102 crore was allegedly routed to two UAE-based firms, Fortbell Telecom and Dragon Telecom.
During the investigation, the ED reportedly found that Rahul Aggrawal, associated with Fortbell Gadget Pvt Ltd, had links with Hemant Sood and Chandrashekhar, who were allegedly connected to Hampton Sky Realty Pvt Ltd.
The probe agency further claimed that scrutiny of the supply chain and purchase parties revealed that several supplier firms were either non-existent, shell entities, or lacked the financial capacity to undertake such large transactions. These firms allegedly issued bogus invoices without actual supply of goods.
The ED also told the court that several entities involved in the transactions were non-filers of Income Tax Returns and had their GST registrations suspended shortly after brief periods of operation.
The remand note further cited the statement of Kavya Arora, son of Sanjeev Arora, who allegedly told investigators that he had no knowledge about any mobile phone export business and only looked after the family's real estate operations.
Investigators noted that Hampton Sky Realty Pvt Ltd is primarily a real estate company and had allegedly begun exporting mobile phones to Dubai only during FY 2023-24.
While granting custody, the court observed that the allegations against the accused were "serious" and that the ED was required to decode the money trail, identify the role of the accused and his associates, and uncover how the alleged proceeds of crime were generated and circulated.
The court further noted that once an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) had been registered and a prima facie case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was made out, the ED was duty-bound to trace the proceeds of crime and reveal the alleged modus operandi adopted by the accused.
The court directed the investigating officer to ensure medical examination of the accused before custodial interrogation and stated that his custody cannot be transferred to any other agency without prior permission from the competent court.
It also allowed the accused's counsel to meet him daily between 10:00 am and 11:00 am during the custody period.
