Mumbai Police’s EOW has booked actor Shilpa Shetty, businessman Raj Kundra, and another person for allegedly cheating a businessman of ₹60.4 crore in a loan-cum-investment deal linked to their defunct firm Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd.
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra, her businessman husband Raj Kundra, and an unidentified person have been booked by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in a high-profile cheating case involving ₹60.4 crore. The allegations stem from a complex loan-cum-investment deal linked to their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, once promoted as a major home shopping and online retail platform. The complaint, filed by a prominent Mumbai businessman, claims the couple misrepresented the nature of the deal, lured him into investing crores, and later defaulted on repayment.
Case Transferred To Economic Offences Wing
The offence, initially registered at Juhu police station under IPC sections of cheating and forgery, was transferred to the EOW due to the high amount involved, exceeding ₹10 crore. The FIR was filed following a preliminary enquiry based on a complaint from Deepak Kothari, a 60-year-old Juhu resident and director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, a non-banking financial company.
Introduction And Investment Deal
According to Kothari, one Rajesh Arya introduced him to Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty, who were then directors of Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd. At the time, the couple reportedly owned 87.6% of the company’s shares and positioned the venture as a profitable retail enterprise.
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Shift From Loan To Investment
Kothari alleged that the accused initially sought a ₹75 crore loan at 12% annual interest. However, they later convinced him to route the funds as an "investment" to avoid higher taxes, assuring him of monthly returns and full repayment of the principal amount.
Fund Transfers And Agreements
In April 2015, Kothari transferred ₹31.9 crore under a share subscription agreement, followed by another ₹28.53 crore in September 2015 through a supplementary agreement. In April 2016, a personal guarantee was provided, but by September 2016, Shilpa Shetty had resigned as a director. Kothari later learnt that insolvency proceedings had been initiated against the company in 2017 over defaults on another agreement, leaving his investment unpaid.
