EOW records statement of Raj Kundra in Rs 60-cr cheating case

The agency had booked Kundra and his wife, actor Shilpa Shetty, in August in the cheating case. A Look-Out-Circular (LOC) was also issued against them earlier this month.

The EOW had issued summons against Kundra last week, asking him to appear before them on Monday.

Kundra’s statement was recorded at an undisclosed location.

A police officer said that Shilpa Shetty was not summoned as she was just a signatory in Kundra’s firm and she will be called for inquiry later if needed.

The case against the couple was lodged based on a complainant 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.

As per the FIR, the couple claimed they were 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 said, the couple persuaded him to route the funds as “investment” to avoid higher taxation, while assuring monthly returns and repayment of principal.

Kothari said that 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 Covid-19 pandemic.

Kothari eventually found that the couple had allegedly used the funds for personal benefit and had cheated him.

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