MUMBAI: Actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra, her businessman husband Raj Kundra, and an unknown person were booked by Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for allegedly cheating a Mumbai-based businessman of Rs 60.4 crore in connection with a loan-cum-investment deal involving their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd.
The offence was registered at Juhu police station against Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra under IPC sections of cheating and forgery. Since the amount involved is more than Rs 10 crore, the case was transferred to the EOW. The FIR follows a preliminary enquiry by the EOW into a complaint filed by Deepak Kothari. Kothari (60), a Juhu resident and director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, an NBFC.
Kothari said one Rajesh Arya introduced him to Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty, who were directors of Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a home shopping and online retail platform. At the time, the couple reportedly held 87.6% shares in the firm.
The accused allegedly sought a loan of Rs 75 crore at 12% interest but later persuaded him to route the funds as an "investment" to avoid higher taxation, while assuring monthly returns and repayment of principal. Kothari claims he transferred Rs 31.9 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by another Rs 28.53 crore under a supplementary agreement in Sept 2015. The FIR says despite providing a personal guarantee in April 2016, Shetty resigned as director in Sept 2016. Kothari later discovered insolvency proceedings were on against the company in 2017 for defaulting on another agreement.
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