The Enforcement Directorate (ED) stated on Thursday it has provisionally hooked up immovable and movable properties worth Rs 97.79 crore belonging to Raj Kundra, businessman and actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband, beneath the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act (PMLA) in the Bitcoin investment fraud case.
The central company stated the hooked up properties embrace a residential flat in Mumbai’s upscale Juhu space, which is at the moment in the identify of Shilpa Shetty, a residential bungalow located in Pune, and fairness shares in Kundra’s identify.
ED’s newest motion towards Kundra is in reference to the cash laundering case which was filed towards him primarily based on a number of FIRs registered by Maharashtra Police and Delhi Police towards Variable Tech Pte Ltd, (late) Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj, Mahender Bhardwaj, and several other a number of stage advertising and marketing (MLM) brokers.
The FIRs alleged the accused had collected enormous quantities of funds in the type of Bitcoins (worth Rs 6,600 crore in 2017) from individuals with false guarantees of a ten per cent per thirty days return in the type of Bitcoins. “The collected Bitcoins have been imagined to be utilised for Bitcoin mining and traders have been imagined to get enormous returns in crypto property. However the promoters cheated the traders and have been concealing the ill-gotten Bitcoins in obscure on-line wallets,” ED acknowledged in a press release.
ED’s investigation into the matter has revealed that Kundra obtained 285 Bitcoins from the mastermind and promoter of the Acquire Bitcoin Ponzi Rip-off Amit Bhardwaj for establishing a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. These Bitcoins have been sourced out of proceeds of crime collected by Amit Bhardwaj from gullible traders.
Because the deal didn’t materialise, Kundra remains to be in possession of 285 Bitcoins, that are presently valued at greater than Rs 150 crore, the ED stated.
Commenting on the ED’s motion, Kundra’s lawyer Prashant Patil stated, “We will comply with the due means of regulation and take vital steps as prescribed beneath the provisions of PMLA to guard the freedom and property of my shoppers.”
Patil added, “On the face of it, there isn’t a prima facie case made out towards Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty Kundra. We now have full religion in the honourable Judiciary. I consider after we make our honest illustration earlier than the Honourable Enforcement Directorate, even the investigation companies could grant justice to us. We now have religion in the honest investigation. We stand dedicated to cooperate with the authorities as and when required.”
Earlier, a number of search operations have been carried out in this case and Simpy Bhardwaj, Nitin Gaur, and Nikhil Mahajan have been arrested final 12 months. They’re all in judicial custody whereas the primary accused Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj are nonetheless needed by regulation enforcement companies.
That is the second attachment in the case. Earlier, the ED had hooked up properties worth Rs 69 crore in the case. The ED has already filed Prosecution Complaints (chargesheet) towards the arrested accused.
Kundra spent two months in Mumbai’s Arthur Highway jail in 2021 in reference to a pornography case. He was granted bail in September 2021 by a metropolitan Justice of the Peace’s court docket in Mumbai.
