Enforcement Directorate Seizes Assets Worth Rs 98 Crore Belonging to Actor Shilpa Shetty’s Husband Raj Kundra

New Delhi, April 18 : The Enforcement Directorate announced on Thursday that it has seized assets worth Rs 98 crore, including a bungalow in Pune and equity shares, belonging to actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra as part of a money laundering probe. The investigation is linked to the fraudulent use of Bitcoins to cheat investors. According to the federal agency’s statement, the seized properties comprise a residential flat in Juhu (Mumbai) under Shetty’s name, a residential bungalow in Pune, and equity shares under Kundra’s ownership. Under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a provisional attachment order has been issued to seize these assets valued at Rs 97.79 crore. The money laundering case originated from FIRs filed by the Maharashtra Police and Delhi Police against Variable Tech Pte Ltd, along with Late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj, Mahender Bhardwaj, and several agents. They allegedly amassed large sums of money in Bitcoins, worth Rs 6,600 crore in 2017, by falsely promising a monthly return of 10 per cent in Bitcoins to unsuspecting investors. The ED alleges that the perpetrators deceived investors and concealed the ill-gotten Bitcoins in obscure online wallets. According to the ED, Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from Amit Bhardwaj, the mastermind and promoter of the Gain Bitcoin Ponzi scam, to establish a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. Kundra still possesses these 285 Bitcoins, currently valued at over Rs 150 crore.