Mumbai Police Issues Lookout Circular Against Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra in Rs 60 Crore Cheating Case
Mumbai Police Issues Lookout Circular Against Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra in Rs 60 Crore Cheating Case
Mumbai Police has issued a Look Out Circular (LoC) against actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband, Raj Kundra, in connection with a Rs 60 crore cheating case. According to an official who spoke to PTI, the LoC was issued after a case was filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the police. An LoC is an alert given to immigration authorities to prevent or restrict people under investigation from leaving the country.
The complaint was filed by Deepak Kothari, director of Lotus Capital Financial Services and a resident of Juhu. Kothari has alleged that Shetty and Kundra cheated him of over Rs 60 crore through their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd. He claimed that between 2015 and 2023, he invested money with them under the promise of business expansion, but instead of using it for the company, the funds were allegedly diverted for personal use.
Defense From Shetty and Kundra
The couple’s lawyer has strongly denied the allegations. Advocate Prashant Patil said in a statement, “This is an old transaction… There is no criminality involved, and our auditors have submitted all the necessary supporting documents from time to time, as requested by the EOW, including detailed cash flow statements.”
He also pointed out that the matter had been adjudicated by the NCLT Mumbai on October 4, 2024, and insisted that the allegations were purely civil in nature.
How the Case Started
The cheating case was first registered at the Juhu police station under sections related to cheating and forgery. However, since the money involved was over Rs 10 crore, the case was later handed over to the Economic Offences Wing. Kothari has alleged that the deal started when one Rajesh Arya introduced him to Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, who were directors of Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd at that time.
Reports state that the couple together owned around 87.6 percent of the shares in the company, which was a home shopping and online retail platform.
According to Kothari’s complaint, Shetty and Kundra initially sought a loan of Rs 75 crore at an interest rate of 12 percent. Later, they reportedly convinced him to route the money as an “investment” instead of a loan, saying this would help avoid higher taxes. They also assured him of monthly returns along with repayment of the principal amount. Kothari said he transferred Rs 31.9 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement. In September 2015, he invested another Rs 28.53 crore through a supplementary agreement.
The FIR further mentions that Shilpa Shetty gave a personal guarantee in April 2016, but by September 2016 she had resigned from her role as director of the company. Later, in 2017, Kothari came to know that Best Deal TV had entered bankruptcy proceedings after defaulting on another agreement.
