NEW DELHI: The ministry of external affairs on Monday strongly refuted a report published by The New York Times, calling it “factually incorrect and misleading.” According to official sources, the report attempts to distort facts and frame issues to fit a specific political narrative.
Responding to allegations concerning Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a state-owned entity, the MEA asserted that HAL has fully adhered to its international obligations on strategic trade controls and end-user commitments.
“We (Ministry of External Affairs) have seen a report published by The New York Times. The said report is factually incorrect and misleading. It has tried to frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative. The Indian entity (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-HAL) mentioned in the report has scrupulously followed all its international obligations on strategic trade controls and end-user commitments,” the MEA sources told news agency ANI.
The ministry reiterated that India has a robust legal and regulatory framework governing strategic trade, which continues to guide overseas commercial activities by Indian companies.
“India’s robust legal and regulatory framework on strategic trade continues to guide overseas commercial ventures by its companies. We expect reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports, which obviously was overlooked in the instant case,” sources told the news agency ANI.
What NYT report alleged
The New York Times report alleged that between 2023 and 2024, a British aerospace firm, HR Smith Group, shipped restricted technology to HAL, which was later linked to transactions involving Russia’s state-owned arms agency, Rosoboronexport.
The report suggested that HAL made multiple shipments of equipment to Russia after receiving parts from HR Smith’s subsidiary, Techtest,
The NYT cited customs records indicating that HAL received 118 shipments of restricted technology worth nearly $2 million from Techtest in 2023 and 2024. During the same period, the report claimed, HAL made at least 13 shipments of similar components to Rosoboronexport, with payments totaling over $14 million. The components in question were described as dual-use technology, flagged by British and American authorities as critical to Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.
The report also mentioned that HR Smith had donated £100,000 to the British political party Reform UK shortly after Nigel Farage was named its leader.
However, it acknowledged that there was no direct proof that HR Smith’s products reached Russia, only that shipment records showed matching product identification codes.
