Porn content-money laundering case: ED freezes bank accounts of software engineer linked to Raj Kundra

After 14 hours of interrogation and document verification, ED officials issued a notice at his residence, summoning him to appear at their Mumbai office on December 4.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen seven bank accounts belonging to software engineer Atul Srivastava and his father, Promod Srivastava, as part of an investigation into alleged technical support provided to Raj Kundra. The case pertains to money laundering linked to the production and distribution of pornographic content.

Raj Kundra stepping outside Enforcement Directorate, at Ballard Estate in Mumbai on October 30, 2019. (File)

On Friday, the ED raided Atul Srivastava’s premises in Kushinagar. After 14 hours of interrogation and document verification, ED officials issued a notice at his residence, summoning him to appear at their Mumbai office on December 4.

The investigation is part of a broader probe into Raj Kundra’s operations. Kundra was arrested in 2020 for distributing pornographic content via a mobile application. While he was later released on bail, the case remains under investigation.

Sources revealed that ED officials questioned Rahul Chaurasiya, a close associate of Atul Srivastava, after discovering a ₹12 lakh transfer from Srivastava to Chaurasiya. Officials are also scrutinising Srivastava’s software company records to verify his alleged role in providing technical support for Kundra’s production company.

During the raid, ED officials uncovered evidence of substantial foreign transactions in Srivastava’s bank accounts. Srivastava was reportedly detained from a flat in the Gorakhnath area under Gorakhnath Police Station. However, the ED has not yet officially confirmed his arrest.

Srivastava, a resident of New Colony near Darbar Road Gas Agency in Ward No. 6 of Padrauna, Kushinagar, also runs an office in Shahi Market, Gorakhpur, with assistance from other software engineers.

The ED has been conducting raids since Friday at multiple locations, including Kanpur and Kushinagar, as part of efforts to uncover individuals connected to Kundra’s production network.