On Thursday, April 18, the Enforcement Directorate used the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to seize businessman Raj Kundra’s immovable and moveable properties valued at Rs 97.79 crore. ED’s official X handle confirmed the same.
The properties that are linked are a residential apartment in Juhu under the name of Shilpa Shetty, a residential bungalow in Pune, and equity interests in Raj Kundra’s name.
The Delhi Police and the Maharashtra Police both filed First Information Reports (FIRs) against Variable Tech Pte Ltd and several MLM agents, which led the ED to open an inquiry.
The ED said, “It has been alleged that they collected huge amounts of funds in the form of Bitcoins (Rs 6600 crore in 2017 itself) from the public with false promises of 10% per month return in the form of Bitcoins.”
The investigation further revealed that “Raj Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from the mastermind and promoter of Gain Bitcoin Ponzi Scam Amit Bhardwaj for setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine.”
ED’s official release said, “Since the deal did not materialise, Kundra is still in possession of the 285 Bitcoins that are presently valued at more than Rs 150 crore.”
According to the ED, the main accused, Ajay and Mahendra Bhardwaj are still absconding.
