BOLLYWOOD ACTOR SHILPA SHETTY, HER HUSBAND RAJ KUNDRA, AND ANOTHER PERSON HAVE BEEN BOOKED FOR ALLEGEDLY CHEATING A MUMBAI BUSINESSMAN OF OVER ₹60 CRORE. (PHOTO).

 Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, her husband Raj Kundra, and another person have been booked for allegedly cheating a Mumbai businessman of over ₹60 crore. 

The case is linked to a deal involving their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd. Businessman Deepak Kothari, director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, has accused the couple of conspiring to defraud him between 2015 and 2023.

According to the complaint, Kothari was introduced to the couple by Rajesh Arya, when they were directors of Best Deal TV and held 87.6% of its shares. He claimed the couple initially sought a ₹75 crore loan at 12% interest, but later convinced him to invest the funds instead of lending them, assuring monthly returns and repayment of the principal. Following this, Kothari transferred ₹31.95 crore in April 2015 and another ₹28.53 crore in September 2015 into the company’s HDFC Bank accounts.

Kothari alleged that despite repeated attempts to recover his money, he received nothing. Shilpa Shetty resigned as a director in September 2016, and the company faced insolvency proceedings the next year. The complainant claims the couple “dishonestly used” his funds for personal gains. The investigation has been handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) since the amount involved exceeds ₹10 crore.

This case adds to the couple’s ongoing legal troubles. Earlier this year, they faced similar fraud allegations in a gold investment scheme filed by another businessman. Raj Kundra, previously arrested in 2021 in an adult content case, is also under probe in a money laundering investigation linked to Bitcoin fraud.