Money laundering case: ‘Raj Kundra sold Rs 80 crore flat to Shilpa Shetty for Rs 38 crore to thwart seizure’
Raj Kundra sold Juhu flat to Shilpa Shetty during ED probe on Gain Bitcoin scam. Linked to Amit Bhardwaj’s bitcoins, valued Rs 150 crore. Pune properties attached. ED suspects internal scheme, seeks Shetty’s statement.
MUMBAI: Businessman Raj Kundra sold his Juhu flat, valued at Rs 80 crore, to his actor-wife Shilpa Shetty for Rs 38 crore in 2022 after the ED initiated a probe against him in a money laundering case
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The ED suspects it was an internal arrangement of the couple to avoid the property’s attachment and it believes that Kundra is still the flat’s real owner, said sources.
On Thursday, the ED issued a press release stating that Kundra received 285 bitcoins from the mastermind and promoter of the Gain Bitcoin ponzi scam, Amit Bhardwaj (now deceased), for setting up a bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. “The said bitcoins were sourced from the proceeds of crime collected by Bhardwaj from gullible investors. Since the deal didn’t materialise, Kundra is still in possession and enjoyment of 285 bitcoins, which are presently valued at more than Rs 150 crore,” said the agency.
The ED believe that the bitcoins are still in Kundra’s possession but since he is not disclosing it, the agency is attaching his properties whose value is equivalent to that of the bitcoins.
The ED is inquiring about Kundra’s other properties after attaching his bungalow in Pune, along with equity shares in his name and Shetty’s Juhu flat, collectively worth Rs 97.8 crore.
The attached properties are not directly connected to the proceeds of the crime and the ED may call Shetty to get her statement in the case.
Kundra and Shetty’s PR refused to comment on the allegation related to the Juhu flat transaction. The couple’s advocate, Prashant Patil, said Kundra had not received a single bitcoin as alleged by the ED. “There is no prima facie case made out against my clients Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty Kundra. We have faith in a fair investigation. We stand committed to cooperating with the authorities as and when required,” he said.
Earlier, Kundra had told the ED in his statement that he had provided consultancy services to Bhardwaj for bitcoin mining. He had said the Bhardwaj brothers—Amit and Ajay—through his bitcoin wallet, had transferred the cryptocurrency into another wallet and that he didn’t know the recipient.
The Pune-based Bhardwaj brothers promoted Variabletech Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company, and controlled gainbitcoin.com and lured investors by promising good returns.
Through gainbitcoin.com, the brothers collected cryptocurrency equivalent to Rs 6,600 crore from investors, defaulted on the payment and concealed the ill-gotten bitcoins in obscure online wallets. The investors filed police cases against the Bhardwaj brothers at various places a few years ago, based on which the ED registered the money laundering case.
