The Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai has provisionally attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs 97.79 crore of businessman Ripu Sudan Kundra, aka Raj Kundra, under the provisions of PMLA, 2002. The attached properties include his residential flat in Juhu registered under his wife and actor Shilpa Shetty's name, a residential bungalow in Pune and the equity shares of Raj Kundra. The Juhu property is where the family is currently residing.
The ED's action comes as part of its investigation based on multiple FIRs registered by the Maharashtra Police and the Delhi Police against M/s Variable Tech Pte Ltd, Late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj, Mahender Bhardwaj, and a number of multi-level marketing agents.
According to the FIRs, the accused collected massive funds in the form of Bitcoins, amounting to Rs 6,600 crore in 2017. The proceeds were collected from unsuspecting investors with false promises of 10% per month returns in the form of Bitcoins. These Bitcoins were purportedly meant for Bitcoin mining, with investors expecting substantial returns in crypto assets. However, the promoters allegedly duped the investors and hid the Bitcoins in obscure online wallets.
The ED has claimed that its investigation revealed Raj Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from the mastermind and promoter of the 'Gain Bitcoin Ponzi Scam', Amit Bhardwaj, for setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. These Bitcoins, sourced from the gullible investors, were collected by Amit Bhardwaj and are in Kundra's possession now. They are valued at over Rs 150 crore.
Before this development, multiple search operations were conducted in the case that led to the arrest of three suspects — Simpy Bhardwaj, Nitin Gaur, and Nikhil Mahajan in December last year. All three are currently in judicial custody. The prime accused, Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj, however, are still at large.
Previously, ED had attached properties worth Rs 69 Crore in connection to the case. The Prosecution Complaint was filed on 11.06.2019, followed by a Supplementary Prosecution Complaint on 14.02.2024, both of which have been acknowledged by the Hon’ble Special PMLA court.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities work diligently to bring all perpetrators of the Gain Bitcoin Ponzi Scam to justice.
'Will Cooperate': Shilpa, Raj's Lawyer
Reacting to the ED's action, Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty's lawyer said: "We shall follow the due process of law and take necessary steps as prescribed under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act to protect the liberty and property of my clients. On the face of it, there is no prima facie case made out against my clients." "We have complete faith in the Honourable Judiciary. I believe when we make our fair representation before the Enforcement Directorate, even the investigation agencies may grant justice to us. We have faith in fair investigation. We stand committed to cooperating with the authorities as and when required," the lawyer added.
(With inputs from Namrata Dubey and Ravi Jain.)