ED attaches Rs 98-cr assets of actor Shilpa Shetty, husband Raj Kundra in Bitcoin scam

New Delhi, April 18

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth Rs 98 crore belonging to Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra, aka Ripu Sudan Kundra, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Action under PMLA

• The ED action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) came in connection with a Rs 7,000-crore Bitcoin ponzi scam
• The attached properties include a Juhu flat in the name of actress Shilpa Shetty, a Pune bungalow and equity shares in the name of her husband Raj Kundra

The attached properties include a Juhu flat in the name of the actress, a Pune bungalow and equity shares in the name of Raj Kundra, besides other things. The action came in connection with a Rs 7,000-crore Bitcoin ponzi scam. The attachment of assets followed multiple FIRs registered by the Maharashtra Police and the Delhi Police against Variable Tech Private Limited and others, including late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj and Mahender Bhardwaj. The aforementioned individuals have been accused of amassing funds in the form of Bitcoins worth Rs 6,600 crore in 2017, under false promise of 10 per cent monthly returns to investors. The collected Bitcoins were supposed to be used for cryptocurrency mining and the investors were supposed to get huge returns thereafter.

The promoters have been accused of cheating the investors and concealing the ill-gotten Bitcoins in obscure online wallets.

According to the ED, Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from Amit Bhardwaj, alleged to be behind the ponzi scheme, for establishing a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. At present, these crypto assets are valued at Rs 150 crore. These were obtained using proceeds of crime. As per the agency, since the deal didn’t go through, Kundra is said to still possess the Bitcoins.