Guwahati: Mumbai Police have issued a Lookout Circular (LOC) against Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, in connection with an alleged Rs 60 crore cheating case.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) initiated the move due to the couple’s frequent overseas travel, a senior official confirmed on Friday.
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Authorities registered the case at Juhu Police Station on August 14, following a complaint filed by Mumbai-based businessman Deepak Kothari.
He accused Shetty and Kundra of duping him through a loan-cum-investment arrangement involving their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd.
Kothari, director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, stated that Rajesh Arya introduced him to the couple.
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At the time of the deal, Kundra and Shetty reportedly controlled 87.6% of the company’s shares.
According to the complaint, the couple initially approached Kothari for a Rs 75 crore loan at 12% annual interest.
However, they later convinced him to treat the transaction as an “investment” to minimize taxes, assuring him of monthly returns and eventual repayment of the principal amount.
Based on these assurances, Kothari transferred Rs 31.95 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by another Rs 28.53 crore in September 2015 under a supplementary agreement. He said he deposited both amounts into the firm’s HDFC Bank accounts.
However, in September 2016, Shilpa Shetty resigned as a director from Best Deal TV.
A year later, the company faced insolvency proceedings after defaulting on another financial commitment.
Kothari claimed that multiple attempts to recover the funds through Arya failed, which led him to lodge a formal police complaint.
Mumbai Police have filed an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), including sections 403 (dishonest misappropriation), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 34 (common intent).
This complaint adds to the couple’s growing legal troubles. Earlier this year, Prithviraj Kothari, managing director of Riddhi Siddhi Bullions, also accused Shetty and Kundra of defrauding an investor in a gold investment scheme.
Raj Kundra, previously arrested in 2021 in connection with a pornography case and later released on bail, is also under investigation in a separate money laundering case linked to an alleged Bitcoin scam.