Rs 60 crore ‘cheating’ case: Mumbai police question Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty for 4 hours, collect documents

In August, the agency booked Shetty and Raj Kundra in the cheating case, and a Look-Out Circular (LOC) was also issued against them in the first week of September. The police had already recorded Raj Kundra’s statement at an undisclosed location on September 15, in connection with the case, to avoid media attention.

A senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer confirmed the development. “Shetty’s statement was recorded, and we collected a few documents related to the case,” said the officer.

EOW issued a summons against Kundra in the second week of September, asking him to appear before it, and his statement was recorded at an undisclosed location in Mumbai.

Cheating case against Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra

The case against the couple was lodged based on a complaint by Deepak Kothari, a director of Lotus Capital Financial Services Limited, a non-banking financial company, which provides loans. In the FIR, Kothari alleged the couple approached him through a loan agent, Rajesh Arya, as they wanted to take a business loan.

According to the FIR, the couple claimed to be the directors of Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a now-defunct home shopping and online retail platform. At the time, Shilpa reportedly held 87.61 per cent of the shares in the company. Both allegedly sought a loan of Rs 75 crore at 12 per cent interest, and the complainant agreed.

However, the FIR stated that the couple persuaded him to route the funds as an “investment” to avoid higher taxation, while assuring him of monthly returns and repayment of the principal. Kothari said he transferred Rs 31.95 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by Rs 28.53 crore under a supplementary agreement in September 2015.

The amount was allegedly credited to Best Deal TV’s HDFC Bank accounts, and the couple had paid stamp duty of Rs 3.19 lakh, the complainant alleged in the FIR. Kothari alleged he had given the couple a loan of Rs 60.4 crore for business expansion between 2015 and 2023.

Kothari said he and his company made repeated attempts to recover the money from Kundra and Shetty, and a mediator, but failed, as they cited delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kothari eventually found that the couple allegedly used the funds for personal benefit and cheated him.

From the homepage

Bar Council of India suspends lawyer for ‘throwing shoe’ at CJI Gavai: ‘Conduct inconsistent with court’s dignity’

On Ladakh after Wangchuk arrest, LG says normal, protesting groups disagree

Dalit man lynched over ‘drone chor’ rumours in UP’s Raebareli; Cong slams ‘jungle raj’ under Yogi govt