Shilpa Shetty, husband Raj Kundra booked for defrauding Mumbai businessman of Rs 60 crore
Businessman Deepak Kothari has alleged that between 2015 and 2023, the couple took Rs 60.48 crore from him for business expansion, but diverted the funds towards personal expenses.
Actress Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband, Raj Kundra, have been booked over an alleged Rs 60 crore fraud following a complaint filed by a Mumbai-based businessman against the couple. The Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has lodged an FIR in this connection, and an investigation has been initiated.
What is the case against Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra?
According to initial reports, businessman Deepak Kothari has accused the couple of taking Rs 60.48 crore from him between 2015 and 2023 for expanding their business, but instead using the funds for personal expenses. The case is linked to a loan-cum-investment deal involving the couple’s company, Best Deal TV Private Limited.
Kothari claims that in 2015, he came into contact with the couple through an agent named Rajesh Arya. At the time, Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra were directors of Best Deal TV, an online shopping platform, with Shetty reportedly holding over 87 per cent of the company’s shares.
Arya allegedly approached Kothari seeking a Rs 75 crore loan for the company at an annual interest rate of 12 per cent. However, to avoid the high interest rate, he suggested the amount be "invested" instead, with the assurance that the money would be repaid on time.
'Shilpa Shetty guaranteed repayment but resigned from company'
In April 2015, Kothari transferred the first instalment of Rs 31.95 crore. Tax-related issues later emerged, and in September 2015, another deal was made. Kothari says that between January 2015 and March 2016, he transferred an additional Rs 28.54 crore.
In total, Kothari claims to have transferred over Rs 60.48 crore for the deal, along with Rs 3.19 lakh paid as stamp duty. He claims that in April 2016, Shilpa Shetty personally guaranteed repayment, but by September that year, she resigned as a director of the company.
Shortly afterwards, a bankruptcy case worth Rs 1.28 crore surfaced against the company, which Kothari alleges he was never informed about. Despite repeated requests for repayment, no action was taken.
Following this, Kothari lodged a complaint at the Juhu Police Station, leading to a fraud case being registered against Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra. The matter is now under investigation by the Mumbai Police Economic Offences Wing.
Shilpa Shetty's statement on the case
Prashant Patil, Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra's lawyer, said: "My clients have been informed by a certain segment of electronic and print media that there is an alleged case registered against my clients at the Economic Offence Wing, Mumbai. At the outset, my clients deny all the allegations against them, which are purely civil in nature and have been adjudicated by the NCLT Mumbai on 04/10/2024. This is an old transaction, wherein the company went into financial distress and eventually got entangled in a long legal battle at the NCLT. There is no criminality involved, and our auditors have submitted all the necessary supporting documents from time to time, as requested by the EOW, including detailed cash flow statements."
"The investment agreement in question is purely like an equity investment," he added.
The company has already received a liquidation order, which has also been placed before the police department. The concerned Charter accounts have visited the police station for the last year more than 15 times, with all the evidence supporting the claims of my clients. This is nothing but a baseless and malicious case aimed at maligning our clients, and appropriate action is being initiated from our side against the perpetrators, the lawyer said.