File photo of Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora | Photo credit: ANI
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has secured the seven-day remand of Sanjeev Arora, Industries Minister in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
Mr Arora was produced before a Gurugram special court late on Saturday (May 9, 2026) after he was arrested by the agency. The case is an offshoot of an investigation into suspected violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by Hampton Sky Realty Limited (HSRL), where Mr. Arora, along with others, previously served as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD).
In a statement on Saturday (May 9), HSRL said it has faith in the legal process and is cooperating fully with statutory authorities and will continue to do so. Stating that each export was verified by independent bodies outside the company’s control, he dismissed the allegations, saying the company was the victim of “supplier fraud”.
Last month, under FEMA, the ED searched HSRL’s premises and found that the company had allegedly reported sales of mobile phones worth ₹157.12 crore from May 12 to October 27, 2023. The firm also allegedly exported goods worth ₹102.50 crore to two UAE-based entities – Fortbel, Global Telecom FX and Dragon.
According to the investigating agency, HSRL, in connivance with its directors, employees and other associates, generated fake purchase invoices through a network of shell entities and then the “bogus” exports were used to transfer foreign exchange from abroad to India under “false pretenses”. Funds received into HSRL’s account were allegedly transferred to multiple shell and intermediary entities.
Based on the information gathered by the ED, a case was registered with the Gurugram police against HSRL, Mr. Arora, his son Kavya Arora, Hemant Sood, Chander Sekhar, Findoc Finvest Private Limited (FFPL) and other known persons. After that, the agency started investigating the alleged money laundering angle.
During FEMA’s investigation, the agency found that Fortbel Telecom FZCO was a “related” entity of Fortbell Gadget Private Limited (FGPL). The two UAE-based companies were “beneficially owned” by Rahul Agrawal, a former employee of an affiliate of Findoc Group. FGPL was “beneficially owned” by Mr. Sood and Mr. Sekhar, who were connected to HSRL through FFPL.
The ED alleged that many of the supply entities associated with HSRL were “non-existent” or “shell” firms with no financial capacity. They issued “fake” invoices without actual delivery of goods. Several of them either did not file income tax returns, showed negligible income and/or had their I/S registrations canceled or suspended after a short period of operation.
According to FEMA, the ED recorded the statement of Mr. Arora’s son and some others, claiming that he controlled HSRL’s operations during the period under investigation.
While probing the suspected shell entities, the ED identified SK Enterprises, whose Delhi-based ‘owner’ Kamal Ahamad allegedly turned out to be a daily wage labourer. The firm, whose GST registration was later suspended, reportedly received about ₹27 crore from HSRL.
The agency alleged that SK Enterprises was run by Azhar Haider, who paid Mr Ahamad nearly ₹2,000. Mr. Haider was the owner of Global Traders, which also received over ₹ 2.50 crore from HSRL. When confronted, he denied supplying any goods or services to HSRL and SK Enterprises.
Published – 10 May 2026 08:20 IST
