The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized assets valued at nearly Rs 98 crore belonging to businessman Raj Kundra, including a Juhu flat owned by his wife, Shilpa Shetty. The Mumbai Zonal Office has provisionally attached properties worth Rs. 97.79 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), including a residential flat in Juhu, a bungalow in Pune, and equity shares in Raj Kundra’s name.
ED initiated investigation based on multiple FIRs registered by Maharashtra Police and Delhi Police against M/s Variable Tech Pte Ltd, late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj, Mahender Bhardwaj and number of MLM agents, wherein it has been alleged that they had collected huge amounts of funds in the form of Bitcoins (worth Rs 6,600 crore in 2017 itself) from the gullible public with the false promises of 10 percent per month return in the form of Bitcoins.
Also Read: Finding Your Polling Booth Through the Election Commission’s Website
Raj Kundra’s Involvement in Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
The collected Bitcoins were supposed to be utilised for Bitcoin mining and investors were supposed to get huge returns in crypto assets. But the promoters cheated the investors and have been concealing the ill gotten Bitcoins in obscure online wallets.
ED investigation revealed that Raj Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from the master mind and promoter of Gain Bitcoin Ponzi scam Amit Bhardwaj for setting up Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine.
The said Bitcoins were sourced out of proceeds of crime collected by Amit Bhardwaj from gullible investors. Since the deal didn’t materialise, Kundra is still in possession and enjoyment of 285 Bitcoins which are presently valued at more than Rs 150 crore.
Also Read: Rider Hangs From Truck, His Bike Dragged On Road After Crash in Hyderabad
Legal Proceedings and Property Seizures
Earlier, multiple search operations were carried out in this case and 3 persons were arrested namely Simpy Bhardwaj on December 17, Nitin Gaur on December 29 and Nikhil Mahajan on January 1 last year. All of them are presently in judicial custody as on date.
Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj, the primary suspects, remain at large. Previously, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had seized properties valued at Rs 69 crore. The prosecution filed the complaint on June 11, 2019, and a supplementary complaint on February 14, 2024. The Special PMLA court has acknowledged these filings.