Shilpa Shetty's Husband Raj Kundra Accused Of Possessing 285 Bitcoins Worth Rs 150.47 Crore, ED Files Chargesheet

Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra is in trouble once again. Amid the Rs 60 crore lookout notice matter, the Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against him in a bitcoin 'scam' saying he was

a beneficial owner and not just a 'mediator' in the transactions as claimed by him. As per the ED, Kundra owns 285 Bitcoins, currently valued at Rs 150.47 crore, that were received from late crypto-scam mastermind Amit Bhardwaj.

Raj Kundra in trouble

The chargesheet was recently filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court. As per PTI’s report, Raj ‘deliberately’ concealed crucial evidence, including the Bitcoin wallet addresses, etc and failed to surrender the Bitcoins received from Bhardwaj, said the chargesheet.

ALSO READ: Shilpa Shetty's Lawyer Rubbishes Rumour Of Actress Receiving Rs 15 Crore From Raj Kundra, Calls It 'Fake' Reportedly, the probe agency contended that Kundra continued to be in possession and enjoyment of the said proceeds of crime (Bitcoins). The ED said he did a ‘genuine transaction’ with Shilpa at ‘far below market rate’ to disguise the origin of such funds obtained by commission of criminal activities. The agency further claimed in the chargesheet that Raj tried to frustrate the proceedings under PMLA by layering the proceeds of crime and projected the same as untainted.

Bitcoin 'scam'

The money-laundering case against Raj stemmed from FIRs lodged by Maharashtra police and Delhi police against a company named Variable Tech Private Limited, late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj and Mahender Bhardwaj. As per the ED, Bitcoins were supposed to be utilised for mining and investors were supposed to get huge returns in crypto assets, but the promoters "cheated" them and have been concealing the ‘ill-gotten’ Bitcoins in obscure online wallets.The agency alleged that Raj received 285 Bitcoins from the ‘mastermind’ and promoter of Gain Bitcoin Ponzi ‘scam’ Amit Bhardwaj, for setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. While the deal did not materialise, the businessman-turned-actor is still in possession of 285 Bitcoins, presently valued at more than Rs 150 crore. The chargesheet stated that Raj claimed to have acted as a mediator in the said transaction, but didn't provide ‘any underlying documentary evidence to prove the same’.On the contrary, the agreement titled ‘Term Sheet’ was signed between him and Mahendra Bhardwaj, the chargesheet revealed. "Thus, it can be safely concluded that the agreement was actually between Raj Kundra and Amit Bhardwaj (his father Mahender Bhardwaj) and the argument given by Kundra that he acted as a mere mediator is not tenable," the chargesheet said.It further stated that Raj remembers the exact number of Bitcoins received in five specific tranches for more than seven years since the transactions took place, and that ‘solidifies the fact that he was indeed the recipient of Bitcoins as a beneficial owner and not acted merely as a mediator’. The complaint said that despite multiple opportunities since 2018, Kundra has consistently failed to provide the wallet addresses where the 285 Bitcoins were transferred.According to the PTI report, Kundra cited damage to his iPhone X soon after his initial statement as the reason for the missing information, which the ED viewed as a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence and conceal the proceeds of crime. Besides Raj, the other person named in the chargesheet is businessman Rajesh Satija.