ED registers money-laundering case against film producer Prerna Arora

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money-laundering case against Bollywood producer Prerna Arora, based on a 2018 case in which the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police had arrested her for allegedly cheating film producer Vashu Bhagnani of ₹31

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money-laundering case against Bollywood producer Prerna Arora, based on a 2018 case in which the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police had arrested her for allegedly cheating film producer Vashu Bhagnani of ₹31.6 crore.

Prerna Arora HT Archives

An ED officer said though Arora was summoned to appear before the agency on Wednesday, she failed to turn up and sought time through her lawyer.

As per the EOW’s charge sheet, Arora, director of production house KriArj Entertainment Private Limited, her mother Protima, and Arjun N Kapoor, another director, had on November 23, 2017, signed a deal with Gothic Entertainment Private Limited for distribution rights of the films ‘Kedarnath’ and ‘Padman’.

“On December 8, 2017, Arora sold the distribution rights of ‘Kedarnath’ to Padma Ispat Private Limited and on December 16 to Bhagnani’s Puja Films. She concealed the information of these dealings from all three and collected a large amount of money from them with fraudulent intentions,” the charge sheet said.

The police probe had also revealed that Bhagnani had been asked to pay ₹10 crore for production and distribution of ‘Padman’ in January 2018 in exchange for the first claim on the revenue the film would generate. Similar terms were offered to him for ‘Kedarnath’ as well. Later, Arora and Protima also allegedly sought ₹9 crore from Bhagnani to buy a house in Pali Hill.

As per a contract signed on January 17, 2018, KriArj would pay ₹20 crore to Puja Films by April 15. If it failed to do so, Puja Films would be paid from the revenue of KriArj’s next film, police officials said.

When KriArj failed to repay Puja Films within the deadline, Arora told Bhagnani that they would eventually pay him ₹25 crore. However, on April 16, Bhagnani learned that Gothic Entertainment had also claimed a share in revenue from ‘Padman’. He then approached the police and filed a complaint.

Arora was arrested on December 7, 2018, and the EOW filed a 1,176-page charge sheet against her for selling distribution rights of ‘Kedarnath’ to multiple companies. Arora was charged with sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The EOW in its charge sheet had submitted details of how Arora, who was charged with defrauding investors of over ₹50 crore, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. She also owed lakhs of rupees to high-end stores where she had paid for luxury products with cheques that bounced later.

The charge sheet also includes a statement of a senior executive of a media and entertainment company alleging that the company loaned Arora ₹6.50 crore, ₹3 crore, ₹1.5 crore, ₹4 crore, and ₹1.10 crore for ‘Rustom’, ‘Canada’, ‘Pari’, ‘Parmanu’, and ‘Padman’ respectively. However, despite assurances from Arora, the money was not returned.