The Bombay High Court has ordered a stay on the eviction notice issued by the ED to Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra. The notification required the couple to evacuate their houses in Juhu and Pawna Lake by October 13.
Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra gained respite from the Bombay High Court after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) postponed its eviction notice. The pair had previously contested their eviction notice in court over a money laundering issue. Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra's lawyer, Prashant Patil, denied having any involvement in the Ponzi scam in a statement.
“At the outset, let us first clarify the fake media reports suggesting that Mr Raj Kundra and his wife, Mrs Shilpa Shetty Kundra, are involved in the cryptocurrency Ponzi scam. This is not even the case of the Enforcement Directorate. It is clarified that Mr Kundra and Mrs. Shetty have no connection to the alleged Ponzi scam, which dates back to 2017. An eviction notice was issued by the ED against my clients’, residential properties, which has been stayed by the Honourable High Court, granting Mr Raj Kundra and Mrs. Shilpa Shetty time to file an appeal before the Honourable Appellate Tribunal in Delhi for further relief. My clients must continue cooperating with the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation.”
The couple appeared in the Bombay High Court on Wednesday after obtaining an eviction notice from the ED. The notice, issued on September 27, required them to evacuate their residences in Juhu and Pawna Lake by October 13. According to reports, the Mumbai Zonal Office has provisionally attached Raj Kundra's assets totaling Rs. 97.79 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002.
The ED initiated an investigation on the discovery of various FIRs filed by the Maharashtra and Delhi Police against M/s Variable Tech Pte Ltd and several individuals, including the late Amit Bhardwaj and his relatives. They were accused of generating around Rs. 6,600 crore using a Bitcoin scam that allegedly promised investors a 10% monthly return in 2017. According to the ED, Raj Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from Bhardwaj to set up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine.