New Delhi:
A New York Times report wrongly claimed that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited – a government-owned aerospace and defence company – sold sensitive technology, with potential military use, to a blacklisted agency supplying Russia with weapons, sources have said.
They slammed the “factually incorrect and misleading” report and accused it of trying to “frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative”.
“The Indian entity mentioned in the report has scrupulously followed all international obligations on strategic trade controls and end-user commitments,” sources said.
“India’s robust legal and regulatory framework on strategic trade continues to guide overseas commercial ventures by its companies,” they said, urging “reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports, which was overlooked in this case”.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, or HAL, has not yet responded.
The row broke after the New York Times published an article – ‘Major Donor to Reform U.K. Party Sold Parts Used In Weapons to Russian Supplier’ – on March 28. The Reform UK party is led by Nigel Farage.
The report said British aerospace manufacturer HR Smith Group had shipped – via HAL – nearly $2 million in transmitters, cockpit equipment, and other sensitive tech, which are among those the British and Americans have said cannot be sold to Russia in the wake of the Ukraine war.
The report claimed that “in some instances the Indian company (i.e., HAL) received equipment from HR Smith and, within days, sent parts to Russia with the same identifying product codes”.
In essence, NYT – which said it had reviewed shipping records – said HR Smith made 118 shipments of restricted tech to HAL over 2023 and 2024. These were worth $2 million.
HAL, in that period, reportedly made 13 shipments of the same parts to Rosoboroneexport, a Russian arms agency blacklisted by the United States and the United Kingdom.
These shipments were worth over $14 million. Rosoboroneexport is reportedly one of HAL’s biggest trading partners.
HR Smith lawyer Nick Watson told NYT the sales were lawful, that the equipment was “destined for an Indian search-and-rescue network”, and that the parts “support life-saving operations”. They are “not designed for military use”, he said.
However, legal experts consulted by NYT indicated the British company may have violated sanctions by not exercising due diligence over the sale to the Indian company.
The British government in December 2023 issued a ‘red alert’ to companies about sensitive equipment being redirected to Russia via intermediaries.
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