- Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra charged with defrauding businessman of Rs 60 crore
- Businessman Deepak Kothari gave Rs 60.48 crore for Best Deal TV expansion from 2015-2023
- Kothari claimed funds were used for personal expenses, not business as promised
Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, have been charged with defrauding a Mumbai-based businessman of Rs 60 crore. 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 60.48 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.
Mr Kothari transferred the first instalment of about 31.95 crore in April 2015. But the tax issue persisted, and a second deal was signed in September. The businessman said that he transferred Rs 28.54 crore more between July 2015 and March 2016.
In total, he had transferred over Rs 60.48 crore for the deal, besides paying Rs 3.19 lakh as stamp duty. Ms Shetty had also given him a personal guarantee in April 2016, claimed Mr Kothari. But months later, in September, she resigned as the company's director.
Soon after, an insolvency case of Rs 1.28 crore emerged against the company, of which Mr Kothari was not aware. His repeated requests for his money fell on deaf ears.
In his complaint, Mr Kothari accused the celebrity couple of running a well-planned conspiracy during 2015-2023, in which they took money for business purposes and channelled those for personal expenses.
The case was initially filed at Juhu Police Station for forgery and cheating, but was later handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) since the amount involved exceeded Rs 10 crore. The EOW is now investigating the case.
