Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, her husband Raj Kundra and one other person have been booked for allegedly cheating a businessman of over Rs 60 crore. A complaint was filed by Deepak Kothari, director of Lotus Capital Financial Services Ltd, stating that the cheating took place between 2015 and 2023.
He alleged that the couple took the money under the pretext of expanding their business but used it for personal expenses instead. Kothari said that in 2015, Shetty and Kundra approached him through a mediator seeking a Rs 75 crore loan for their company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, which was involved in promoting lifestyle products and ran an online shopping platform. The proposed interest rate on the loan was 12 per cent.
After some period, the couple asked him to provide the funds as an investment instead of a loan. They assured him of monthly returns and repayment of principal.
Kothari claimed he transferred Rs 31.95 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, and another Rs 28.53 crore in September 2015 under a supplementary agreement. The total amount was credited to Best Deal TV’s bank accounts.
Kothari claimed that despite repeated attempts to recover the funds, he could not succeed in getting the money fro the couple. He accused them of dishonestly using the money for personal interests.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is currently conducting a detailed investigation into the financial transactions between Kothari and the couple, agreements and the alleged misuse of funds.
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