Taking cognisance of the chargesheet, a special court in Bombay on January 5 issued summons to Shilpa Shetty’s businessman-husband, Raj Kundra, in connection with the Rs. 6,500 crore ‘Gain Bitcoin’ ponzi scheme money laundering case. The court directed Kundra and another accused, Rajesh Satija, to appear before it on January 19.
The Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering case originated from multiple FIRs registered by the Maharashtra and Delhi police against Variable Tech Pvt. Ltd. and several individuals.
The order was delivered by special judge R.B. Rote.
The ED alleged that the promoters collected vast sums in bitcoins from the public by promising a 10% monthly return. Instead of using these funds for bitcoin mining, as promised, the promoters reportedly cheated investors and concealed the assets in obscure online wallets.
According to the investigations, Raj Kundra allegedly received 285 bitcoins from the mastermind, Amit Bhardwaj (now deceased), for the purpose of establishing a mining farm in Ukraine. The ED claimed that these bitcoins were derived from the proceeds of crime. As the deal never materialised, the agency claimed that Kundra remained in possession of these assets, which were valued at more than Rs. 150 crore.
Last year, the ED provisionally attached properties worth Rs. 97.79 crore, including a residential flat at Juhu in Bombay, held in the name of Shilpa Shetty, and a bungalow in Pune. In December last year, the judge granted the ED’s application to issue a letter of request to the Central Authority of the UAE seeking legal assistance to execute attachment orders against immovable properties acquired in the UAE using the proceeds of crime.