Mumbai, Aug 14: Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra, her businessman husband Raj Kundra, and an unidentified individual have been booked by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for allegedly defrauding a Mumbai-based businessman of Rs 60.4 crore in a loan-cum-investment deal linked to their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, police said on Thursday.

According to Mumbai Police, businessman Deepak Kothari has accused the couple of jointly cheating him of more than Rs 60 crore.

He alleged that the money, given between 2015 and 2023 in the name of business expansion, was instead used for personal expenses. The investigation has now been handed over to the EOW.

The offence was initially registered at Juhu police station under relevant sections related to cheating and forgery. However, since the amount involved exceeded Rs 10 crore, the matter was transferred to the EOW. The FIR was lodged after a preliminary enquiry into Kothari's complaint.

Kothari, a Juhu resident and director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, stated that one Rajesh Arya had introduced him to Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra, who at the time were directors of Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a home shopping and online retail platform. The couple reportedly held 87.6 per cent of the company's shares.

The accused allegedly sought a loan of Rs 75 crore at an interest rate of 12 per cent but later convinced him to channel the money as an "investment" to avoid higher taxation, while promising monthly returns along with repayment of the principal.

Kothari claims he transferred Rs 31.9 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by another Rs 28.53 crore in September 2015 under a supplementary agreement.

The FIR states that despite offering a personal guarantee in April 2016, Shilpa Shetty resigned as director in September 2016.

Kothari later learned that the company had entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2017 after defaulting on another agreement.

Investigations into the matter are currently underway, and further details are awaited.

(IANS)

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