Achi news desk-
GUWAHATI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday announced that it has temporarily attached immovable and movable property worth Rs 97.79 crore belonging to Raj Kundra, businessman and husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with a Bitcoin investment fraud case.
The assets seized by the central agency include a residential apartment located in Mumbai’s posh Juhu area, currently registered under Shilpa Shetty’s name, as well as a residential bungalow located in Pune, and equity shares owned by Kundra.
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This latest action by the ED stems from the ongoing investigation into the money laundering case filed against Kundra, based on multiple FIRs filed by the Maharashtra Police and the Delhi Police against Variable Tech Pte Ltd, (late) Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj, Mahender Bhardwaj, and several Multi Level Marketing (MLM) agents.
The FIRs allege that the accused persons fraudulently collected substantial funds in the form of Bitcoin, to the tune of Rs 6,600 crore in 2017, from investors by falsely promising 10 percent monthly returns in Bitcoin. However, the collected bitcoins were allegedly misplaced and hidden in obscure online wallets, according to the ED’s statement.
During its investigation, the ED revealed that Kundera received 285 bitcoins from an associate of Hardwaj, the mastermind behind the Gin Bitcoin Ponzi scam, for the purpose of setting up a bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. Although the deal failed, Kundra retained possession of the 285 bitcoins, which are now valued at over 150 crore.
In the past, several search operations were conducted in connection with the case, which led to the arrest of Simpi Bhardwaj, Nitin Gaur and Nikhil Mahajan last year. They remain in judicial custody, while the main accused, Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj, are still evading law enforcement authorities.
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This marks the second attachment of assets in the case, with the ED previously seizing assets worth ₹69 crore. Additionally, the ED filed chargesheets (charge sheet) against the arrested accused.
Kundra, who faced legal trouble in 2021 related to a pornography case, spent two months in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail before she was granted bail in September 2021 by a Mumbai magistrate court.
