The Economic Offences Wing of the government of India has registered a case of fraud against Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her husband, Raj Kundra. It is not the first time that the couple has come to the limelight for a negative reason, but in fact, another serious allegation in a series of many. As per the complaint filed by Deepak Kothari, a businessman and director of Lotus Capital Financial Services Ltd, the fraud episode took place between 2015 and 2023. He has alleged that the couple has taken money in the name of expanding the business and used it for personal motives.
Kothari further alleged that both the individuals had approached him via a mediator in 205 and sought a loan of 75 crores for their company named Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd. A company that was designed to promote lifestyle products via online platforms. As per the report of ANI, the proposed interest rate offered was 12 per cent. The couple later asked Kothari to make this payment as an investment rather than a loan and offered a good rate of monthly return, as per reports.
The businessman has also claimed to have transferred 31.95 crore in April 2015 and another 28.53 crores in September of the same year, via a shared subscription agreement and another supplementary agreement, respectively, into the bank account of Best Deal TV. The FIR also states that despite giving a personal guarantee, the couple had cheated him, and in 2016 Shilpa Shetty resigned from the company without giving any details to Kothari. He later found out that the company had failed another agreement was undergoing an insolvency proceeding in 2017. The complainant has approached the police station in Juhu and, on Wednesday, registered the FIR under sections 403, 406, and 34 of the BNS against both Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra.
The case is now being investigated by the Economic Offence Wing as the amount is more than 10 crores. The investigations are ongoing, as the agency is trying to find out the money trail and other angles in the case, if any.
