The Economic Offenses Wing has summoned a former employee of the company of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra in a Rs 60 crore fraud case. Forensic audit of the fraud case has also been ordered. The Economic Offenses Wing of Mumbai Police had summoned a former employee of businessman Raj Kundra’s Best Deal Pvt Ltd in an alleged Rs 60 crore fraud case. A forensic auditor will be appointed next week to probe the financial transactions of Best Deal Pvt Ltd and its associated companies. After recording the statements of all the former employees and shareholders, the EOW can recall Kundra for further questioning if needed.
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Sources told India Today TV The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police has reportedly found evidence that suggests Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra embezzled funds in a Rs 60 crore fraud case registered by an NBFC in 2015.
According to EOW officials, preliminary investigation and recorded statements indicate that funds borrowed from businessman Deepak Kothari’s NBFC for his company Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd were diverted and embezzled through related companies. According to police sources, the EOW is now preparing to conduct a forensic audit through a third-party consultant to trace the exact route and usage of the funds.
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Officials said the audit will determine how the funds were embezzled and whether it was used to make payments to other companies allegedly linked to Shetty and Kundra, such as Satyug Gold, Viaan Industries, Essential Bulk Commodities Pvt Ltd and Statement Media.
Authorities suspect that funds reported as business expenses – including international travel, broadcasting, storage and office costs – may have been fabricated.EOW sources also revealed that several vendors, including a courier company and a media solutions firm, employed by Best Deal TV were never paid, despite claims made by the couple. The agency will soon call former employees of these firms to record their statements.
Earlier, Raj Kundra was interrogated for about five hours. He reportedly told investigators that Rs 60 crore was initially taken as loan but was later converted into equity. He claimed that Rs 20 crore was spent on broadcast fees, celebrity advertisements and other promotional expenses. Kundra named actresses Bipasha Basu and Neha Dhupia among those paid for brand endorsements and also provided photographs as proof.
However, the EOW found discrepancies in fund flow. Despite being the majority shareholder, Shilpa Shetty reportedly took celebrity fees of Rs 15 crore for Best Deal TV advertisements, which were shown as company expenses. Shetty told authorities that she was paid as a model through an advertising agency associated with her.
The officials also pointed out that no valuation was done before giving the equity shares to the complainant NBFC, which further increased the suspicion.
Kundra claimed that his business suffered huge losses due to demonetisation as it mainly ran on a cash-on-delivery model, which eventually led to his closure. He also said that during the investigation of the pornography case, the Cyber Crime Cell had earlier seized promotional materials and videos related to other celebrities, which is now being confirmed by the Economic Offenses Wing.