Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra respond to ₹60 crore fraud case allegations, call it ‘baseless’

A case has been filed on Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra for allegedly cheating a businessman. The Econimic Offences Wing (EOW) is looking into it.

Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, have been charged with allegedly cheating a businessman of over ₹60 crore. According to ANI, the complaint was filed by businessman Deepak Kothari, who claims the incident took place between 2015 and 2023. Shilpa and Raj’s lawyer responded to these claims.

Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty face serious charges of fraud against a businessman.

The case against Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra

According to the news agency ANI, Deepak, director of Lotus Capital Financial Services Ltd, claims the incident took place between 2015 and 2023. He alleged that Shilpa and Raj took the money under the pretext of expanding their business but used it for personal expenses instead.

According to Deepak, in 2015, Shilpa and Raj approached him through a mediator seeking a ₹75 crore loan for their company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, which promoted lifestyle products and ran an online shopping platform. The proposed interest rate was 12 per cent. Later, they reportedly asked him to provide the funds as an "investment" instead of a loan, assuring him of monthly returns and repayment of principal.

Deepak claimed he transferred ₹31.95 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, and another ₹28.53 crore in September 2015 under a supplementary agreement. The total amount was credited to Best Deal TV's bank accounts. Repeated attempts to recover the funds allegedly failed, and Deepak accused the couple of "dishonestly using" the money for personal benefit.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is currently conducting a detailed investigation into the financial transactions, agreements, and the alleged misappropriation of funds.

Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra’s lawyer responds

Advocate Prashant Patil released a statement to the press on behalf of Shilpa and Raj that read, “My clients have been informed by 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 my clients which are purely civil in nature and have been adjudicated by the NCLT Mumbai on 04/10/2024.”

He added, “This is an old transaction , wherein the company went in to 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 in the nature of an equity investment.”

The advocate called the case ‘baseless’ and ‘malicious’, claiming, “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 last one year for 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.”