Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra booked for cheating. Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra landed in trouble when they were booked for cheating case.
Mumbai based Businessman Deepak Kothari alleged that the couple cheated him worth Rs 60crs which he had given them for business expansion which they used for personal reasons. The case is linked to loan-cum-investment deal for the celebrity couple's now-defunct Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd.
Businessman Deepak Kothari has alleged that he had given them Rs 60 crore for business expansion around 2015-2023, but they spent it on personal expenses. Mr Kothari claimed he had come into touch with Shetty-Kundra through an agent, Rajesh Arya, in 2015. At that time, the couple were the directors of Best Deal TV, an online shopping platform; Ms Shetty held over 87% shares in the company then.
Mr Arya, he alleged, had sought a loan of Rs 75 crore, at 12% annual interest for the company, but to avoid higher taxes, he suggested that he channel the amount as an "investment". A meeting was held, and the deal was finalised with a promise that the money would be returned on time.
However, Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra denied these allegations. Advocate Prashant Patil, representing the couple, said: “My clients have been informed by certain segments of electronic and print media that there is an alleged case registered against my clients at the Economic Offences 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 into 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.”