Shilpa Shetty’s businessman-turned-actor husband, Raj Kundra, is in legal trouble as the Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against him for possessing 285 Bitcoins, currently valued at Rs 150.47 crore.
Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra is in trouble once again. Amid the Rs 60 crore lookout notice matter, the Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against him in a bitcoin ‘scam’ saying he was a beneficial owner and not just a ‘mediator’ in the transactions as claimed by him. As per the ED, Kundra owns 285 Bitcoins, currently valued at Rs 150.47 crore, that were received from late crypto-scam mastermind Amit Bhardwaj.
Raj Kundra in trouble
Reportedly, the probe agency contended that Kundra continued to be in possession and enjoyment of the said proceeds of crime (Bitcoins). The ED said he did a ‘genuine transaction’ with Shilpa at ‘far below market rate’ to disguise the origin of such funds obtained by commission of criminal activities. The agency further claimed in the chargesheet that Raj tried to frustrate the proceedings under PMLA by layering the proceeds of crime and projected the same as untainted.
Bitcoin ‘scam’
The agency alleged that Raj received 285 Bitcoins from the ‘mastermind’ and promoter of Gain Bitcoin Ponzi ‘scam’ Amit Bhardwaj, for setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. While the deal did not materialise, the businessman-turned-actor is still in possession of 285 Bitcoins, presently valued at more than Rs 150 crore. The chargesheet stated that Raj claimed to have acted as a mediator in the said transaction, but didn’t provide ‘any underlying documentary evidence to prove the same’.
On the contrary, the agreement titled ‘Term Sheet’ was signed between him and Mahendra Bhardwaj, the chargesheet revealed. “Thus, it can be safely concluded that the agreement was actually between Raj Kundra and Amit Bhardwaj (his father Mahender Bhardwaj) and the argument given by Kundra that he acted as a mere mediator is not tenable,” the chargesheet said.
It further stated that Raj remembers the exact number of Bitcoins received in five specific tranches for more than seven years since the transactions took place, and that ‘solidifies the fact that he was indeed the recipient of Bitcoins as a beneficial owner and not acted merely as a mediator’. The complaint said that despite multiple opportunities since 2018, Kundra has consistently failed to provide the wallet addresses where the 285 Bitcoins were transferred.
