MUMBAI– Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra, her businessman husband Raj Kundra, and an unidentified associate have been booked by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for allegedly defrauding a Mumbai-based businessman of Rs 60.4 crore (approx. $7.2 million) in a loan-cum-investment deal tied to their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd., police said Thursday.
Businessman Deepak Kothari has accused the couple of diverting funds he provided between 2015 and 2023 — ostensibly for business expansion — to cover personal expenses. The investigation, initially lodged at Juhu police station, was transferred to the EOW because the alleged fraud exceeded Rs 10 crore. The FIR was filed after a preliminary inquiry into Kothari’s complaint.
According to police, Kothari, a Juhu resident and director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, said one Rajesh Arya introduced him to Shetty and Kundra, then directors of Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd., a home-shopping and online retail venture in which they reportedly held an 87.6 percent stake.
The couple allegedly sought a Rs 75 crore loan at 12 percent interest but persuaded Kothari to route the funds as an “investment” to reduce tax liability, promising monthly returns plus repayment of the principal. Kothari claims he transferred Rs 31.9 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by another Rs 28.53 crore in September 2015 under a supplementary agreement.
The FIR states that despite offering a personal guarantee in April 2016, Shetty resigned as company director in September that year. Kothari later discovered that the company had entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2017 after defaulting on another agreement.
Investigations are ongoing, and further details are awaited. (Source: IANS)
