Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra with her husband Raj Kundra. (Photo: X/@TheShilpaShetty)The Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Wednesday registered a case against Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra and her husband Raj Kundra for allegedly cheating a Juhu-based businessman of Rs. 60.48 crore.The complainant, Deepak Kothari, said that he and his company made repeated attempts to recover the money from businessman Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty, and a mediator, but failed, as they cited pandemic-related delays. A resident of Juhu, Kothari is a director of Lotus Capital Financial Services Limited, which is non non-banking financial company, which provides loans.Kothari eventually found that the couple had used the funds for personal benefit, and had cheated him.In his FIR, Kothari alleged that Rajesh Arya, who was working as a loan agent in his firm, said that Kundra and Shetty wanted to take a business loan, and he knew them personally. A meeting was arranged in a five-star hotel in Juhu, where Raj Kundra, Shilpa Shetty, Arya, and the complainant, along with his son, met.Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty Kundra claimed that they were directors of Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a now-defunct home shopping and online retail platform. At the time, Shetty reportedly held 87.61 per cent of the shares in the company. Both allegedly sought a loan of ₹75 crore at 12 per cent interest, and the complainant agreed.However, the FIR said, the couple persuaded him to route the funds as an “investment” to avoid higher taxation, while assuring monthly returns and repayment of principal.Believing these assurances, Kothari agreed and transferred ₹31.95 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by ₹28.53 crore under a supplementary agreement in September 2015. The amount was allegedly credited to Best Deal TV’s HDFC Bank accounts, and the couple had paid stamp duty of Rs. 3.19 lakh, the complainant alleged in the FIR.Story continues below this adThe FIR further states that despite providing a personal guarantee, the complainant received an email from Shilpa Shetty’s email address that she had resigned as director in September 2016 from Best Deal TV. Kothari asked the reasons, but she did not give a satisfactory answer and avoided. Kothari later discovered that insolvency proceedings had been initiated against the company in 2017 for defaulting on another agreement.Kothari approached the Juhu Police Station, and based on his complaint, an FIR was registered Wednesday under sections 403 (dishonest and misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention) against Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty Kundra.The case was handed over to EOW since the amount involved exceeded Rs 10 crore. EOW is now investigating the case and trying to trace the money trail, and the role of each suspect in the alleged conspiracy.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Raj KundraShilpa Shetty