Daily wage labourer’s ‘shell’ firm used to launder Rs 27 crore by Sanjeev Arora’s company: ED
ED has alleged that Hampton Sky Realty Limited, linked to Punjab Minister Sanjeev Arora, used a network of shell companies and "accommodation entries" to fabricate a Rs 157-crore mobile phone export business.
ED arrested Sanjeev Arora last Saturday in an alleged Rs 100 crore money laundering case during searches at his official residence in Chandigarh. File Photo During the remand hearing of arrested Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said a shell company registered in the name of a daily-wage labourer with limited education was used to route crores of rupees in a Rs 157-crore alleged bogus mobile phone export case linked to Arora’s Hampton Sky Realty Limited (HSRL).
ED arrested Sanjeev Arora last Saturday in an alleged Rs 100 crore money laundering case during searches at his official residence in Chandigarh. Arora, who was the chairman and managing director of HSRL at the time, is accused of being the key person controlling the export business and the overall modus operandi.
His son, Kavya Arora, the current MD, and CFO Deepak Sharma earlier stated under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) that the Punjab minister handled the mobile-phone export operations.
What does ED say
ED’s submissions before Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (Prevention of Money Laundering Act or PMLA) Narender Sura on May 9 centred on various transactions of Arora’s firms, including one with S K Enterprises, a proprietorship firm ostensibly owned by Kamal Ahmad, a daily-wage labourer from North Ghonda in Delhi.
Between August 2023 and January 2024, HSRL allegedly transferred Rs 27.73 crore through 41 RTGS payments to S K Enterprises’ multiple bank accounts. The firm’s GST registration was later suspended.
In his statement recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA on May 6, Ahmad told ED he had limited education and “no knowledge or control” over the company. He claimed one Azhar Haider, alias Monty, had taken his Aadhaar and PAN documents, obtained his signatures on papers, arranged the registered office, handled GST filings, operated the bank accounts, and linked mobile numbers and emails under his own control.
Ahmad said he received only Rs 1.5–2 lakh as “consideration” and that S K Enterprises was used solely to provide accommodation entries and to circulate funds on commission. He denied any genuine business, including any supply of mobile phones to HSRL.
Haider, whose own firm Global Traders also received Rs 2.55 crore from HSRL, admitted in his PMLA statement that he gave accommodation entries on a 1.5–2 per cent commission basis, dealt entirely in cash, and that no actual goods were supplied. His GST registration was later cancelled as the firm was found to be non-functional.
In its remand application and grounds of arrest, ED has alleged that HSRL, formerly known as Ritesh Properties and Industries Ltd, reported mobile phone sales worth around Rs 157.12 crore in the financial year 2023–24.
Of this, Rs 102.5 crore was reportedly shown as exports to two UAE-based companies — Fortbel Telecom FZCO and Dragon Global FZCO — which the agency says are linked to associates of the HSRL/Findoc Group.
Most domestic suppliers were non-existent shell or dummy firms that issued fake invoices without actually supplying goods. Many had negligible income, were non-filers of ITRs, or had their GST registrations cancelled/suspended shortly after operation. Funds from purported exports, GST refunds, and promoter sources were layered through multiple shell entities to obscure the money trail.
ED claims the proceeds of crime generated through scheduled offences, cheating, forgery, etc, as per FIR No. 0137 dated April 18, 2026, registered at Udyog Vihar Police Station in Gurgaon, were laundered through these shell entities, including S K Enterprises and Global Traders.
ED and defence arguments
During the hearing, ED argued that custodial interrogation was essential to trace the complete money trail, identify all beneficiaries and accomplices, ascertain the source of foreign remittances, locate assets bought with proceeds of crime, and confront Arora with the statements of witnesses.
Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain and other ED prosecutors told the court that there was sufficient material to form a “reason to believe” under Section 19 of the PMLA, and that all required procedural safeguards had been followed.
Arora’s counsel, led by Arjun Dewan, opposed the remand, arguing that the arrest was illegal, the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was based solely on FEMA material without independent investigation, the statements of shell-entity operators did not directly implicate Arora, and no verification had been done from Customs regarding actual exports. They contended that the purposes of interrogation could be met without custody.
After hearing both sides and examining the record, the court held that Section 19 of the PMLA had been complied with. It noted that sufficient material was available for the investigating officer to form the required opinion, and that a prima facie case of money laundering had been made out.
The judge observed that custodial interrogation was necessary “to decode the money trail” and reveal the full modus operandi. However, considering the facts and mitigating circumstances, the court granted only seven days instead of 10.
The matter will be heard next on May 16.
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