Chandigarh: A Gurugram sessions court on late Saturday night sent Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora to seven days of Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in connection with alleged case of money laundering linked to alleged fraudulent GST transactions.
Meanwhile, the Hampton Sky Realty Limited has issued a detailed clarification following the recent Enforcement Directorate proceedings, asserting that its business operations were lawful and fully compliant with regulatory norms. The company maintained that all its financial transactions and export activities were transparent and verifiable, while expressing confidence in the judicial process.
In an official statement released on Friday, the company said it had complete faith in India’s constitutional and legal institutions and would continue extending full cooperation to investigating agencies.
The company highlighted that it entered the mobile phone export sector in May 2023, describing it as a key growth area promoted by the Centre under flagship industrial initiatives such as the “Make in India” campaign and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. It noted that India’s mobile phone export market had witnessed exponential growth over the past decade, with the UAE emerging as a major destination.
Hampton Sky Realty said it exported over 44,000 branded mobile handsets and accessories, including devices from leading global brands such as Apple, Samsung and OnePlus. According to the company, every export consignment underwent multiple levels of independent verification by customs authorities, telecom equipment manufacturers and banking institutions.
It stated that each handset carried a unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number that was scanned and verified during customs clearance and cross-checked through manufacturers’ global activation databases after export. This, the company argued, establishes the authenticity of the products beyond doubt.
The company further claimed that all export payments were received through authorised banking channels and fully reconciled with corresponding supplier payments within India. It rejected allegations of fund diversion or “round-tripping”, saying there was no evidence of offshore retention or concealment of funds.
Addressing concerns related to GST input tax credit irregularities involving certain suppliers, Hampton Sky Realty said it had itself lodged a police complaint against three vendors in Ludhiana after discovering discrepancies. The company described itself as a victim of supplier-side fraud and said it had proactively informed authorities nearly a year before the present investigation surfaced.
The statement also said any GST-related disputes had already been addressed through deposits made with tax authorities, while appeals remain pending before the appellate forum. It insisted there had been no loss to the government exchequer arising from its transactions.
Reaffirming its position, Hampton Sky Realty said all relevant records and documents would be presented before the appropriate legal forums and expressed confidence that facts would ultimately establish its innocence.
The statement made it clear that there was no current loss to the Government exchequer on account of the Company’s transactions and that the company was confident that the truth will prevail.
