Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra’s legal team has responded to the news of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) booking them for allegedly defrauding a city-based
businessman of Rs 60.4 crore through a loan-cum-investment arrangement linked to their now-defunct venture. Their lawyer, in an official statement, denied the allegation. Advocate Prashant Patil further mentioned that there’s no ‘criminality involved’.
Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra's lawyer issues statement
The official statement from Advocate Patil read, “My clients have been informed by certain segment of electronic and print media that there is an alleged case registered against my clients at the Economic Offence 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 in to 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.”
ALSO READ: Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra Booked By EOW For Rs 60.4 Crore Fraud Linked To Defunct Firm
It further read, “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 one 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.”
Case against Shilpa and Raj
Initially registered at Juhu police station under sections of the IPC pertaining to cheating and forgery, the matter was transferred to the EOW due to the high monetary value involved, exceeding Rs 10 crore. The FIR was filed following a preliminary probe based on a complaint lodged by 60-year-old Deepak Kothari, a Juhu resident and director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
According to Kothari, he was introduced to the couple by Rajesh Arya. At the time, Raj and Shilpa Shetty were the primary stakeholders in Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a home-shopping and e-commerce platform reportedly holding 87.6% of the company’s shares.
