Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra's lawyer issues statement after EOW books the couple in in Rs 60.4 crore fraud case, calls it 'baseless and malicious'

Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra

Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and husband Raj Kundra's lawyer, advocate Prashant Patil, has issued a statement hours after the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) booked the couple in connection with a Rs 60.4 crore fraud case.

According to an FIR filed by complainant Mumbai-based businessman Deepak Kothari, the EOW registered a formal complaint.

The couple allegedly defrauded Deepak of the substantial sum in connection with a loan-cum-investment deal, according to the complaint. It involves their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd.

The complaint, which was filed at the Juhu police station against Shilpa and Raj under cheating and forgery sections, has been transferred to the EOW since the amount was more than Rs 10 crore.

Their lawyer has now issued a statement and said, "My clients have been informed by certain segments of electronic and print media that there is an alleged case registered against my clients at the Economic Offense Wing, Mumbai. At the outset, my clients deny all the allegations against my clients, which are purely civil in nature and have been adjudicated by the NCLT Mumbai on 04/10/2024."

"This is an old transaction, wherein the company went into financial distress and eventually got entangled in a long legal battle at the NCLT. There is no criminality involved and our auditors have submitted all the necessary supporting documents from time to time, as requested by the EOW, including detailed cash flow statements. The investment agreement in question is purely in the nature of an equity investment.

"The company has already received a liquidation order, which has also been placed before the police department. The concerned Charter accounts have visited the police station for the last year for more than 15 times with all the evidence supporting the claims of my clients.

This is nothing but a baseless and malicious case aimed at maligning our clients, and appropriate action is being initiated from our side against the perpetrators," said the statement.

60-year-old Deepak Kothari is a Juhu resident, and director of Lotus Capital Financial Services.

In his complaint, Kothari alleged that a man named Rajesh Arya introduced him to Raj and Shilpa. And at the time of their meeting, both Raj and Shilpa were the directors of Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a home shopping and online retail platform. The couple reportedly held 87.6% shares in the firm at that time.

The accused is said to have asked for a loan of Rs 75 crore at 12% interest but later convinced the victim to send the money as an "investment" to avoid paying more taxes, promising monthly profits and the recovery of the capital.

Deepak Kothari further said that in April 2015, he sent Rs 31.9 crore as part of a share subscription arrangement. Then, in September 2015, he sent an additional Rs 28.53 crore as part of a supplementary agreement.

The FIR states that Shilpa Shetty quit as director in September 2016, even though she had given a personal guarantee in April 2016. Later, Kothari found out that the company was going through bankruptcy because it had broken another contract in 2017.