Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra are embroiled in a high-stakes legal battle, as the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) investigates allegations of a ₹60.4 crore fraud. The couple has vehemently denied the claims, labeling them “baseless and malicious” and accusing the complainant of attempting to tarnish their reputation.
The case stems from a complaint by Deepak Kothari, director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, who alleges that Shetty and Kundra defrauded him through their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a home shopping and online retail platform. Kothari claims that in 2015, the couple, introduced through agent Rajesh Arya, sought a ₹75 crore loan at 12% interest to expand their business. They later persuaded him to reframe the funds as an “investment” to reduce tax liabilities, promising monthly returns and repayment of the principal.
According to Kothari, he transferred ₹31.95 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by ₹28.53 crore in September 2015 under a supplementary agreement, totaling ₹60.48 crore, plus ₹3.19 lakh in stamp duty. The funds were credited to Best Deal TV’s accounts, but Kothari alleges repeated attempts to recover the money failed, accusing the couple of diverting it for personal expenses.
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The couple’s lawyer, Advocate Prashant Patil, issued a statement dismissing the allegations as “purely civil in nature,” noting that the matter was adjudicated by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Mumbai on October 4, 2024. “This is an old transaction. The company faced financial distress and entered a prolonged legal battle at the NCLT, which issued a liquidation order,” Patil said. He emphasized that auditors provided detailed cash flow statements and other documents to the EOW, asserting that the investment was equity-based with no criminality involved.
Patil added that the couple’s representatives visited the Juhu police station over 15 times in the past year, cooperating fully with the investigation. “This case is a malicious attempt to malign our clients, and we are initiating appropriate legal action against the perpetrators,” he declared.
The FIR, initially filed at Juhu police station under charges of cheating and forgery, was transferred to the EOW due to the amount exceeding ₹10 crore. Shetty, who reportedly held 87.6% of Best Deal TV’s shares alongside Kundra, resigned as director in September 2016, shortly after providing a personal guarantee in April 2016. Kothari later discovered insolvency proceedings against the company in 2017, further fueling his claims of deception.
This isn’t the first time Kundra has faced legal scrutiny. In 2024, the Enforcement Directorate searched his premises in a money laundering probe, and in 2021, he was arrested in connection with a pornography-related case, though he was later granted bail. The ongoing fraud case adds to the couple’s legal woes, casting a shadow over their public image as the EOW delves deeper into the financial transactions.
As the investigation unfolds, the case raises questions about celebrity-driven business ventures and financial accountability, with the public eagerly awaiting further developments in this high-profile controversy.
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