Actress Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra have found themselves in legal trouble once again, with a cheating case filed against them by a Mumbai-based businessman. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police registered an FIR on Wednesday after businessman Deepak Kothari, director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, accused the couple of cheating him out of ₹60.48 crore.
Allegations Linked to Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd
The case dates back to 2015, when Shilpa and Raj were operating Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, a now-defunct home shopping and retail company. Kothari alleges the couple approached him for a ₹75 crore loan at a 12% interest rate. Shilpa Shetty reportedly held an 87.61% stake in the company.
According to the FIR, Kothari claims he was convinced to route the funds as an “investment” to avoid higher taxes. He transferred ₹31.95 crore in April 2015 and ₹28.53 crore in September 2015—a total of ₹60.48 crore—to Best Deal TV’s HDFC Bank accounts. Shilpa and Raj allegedly provided a personal guarantee and paid a stamp duty of ₹3.19 lakh.
However, Shilpa resigned as director in 2016. In 2017, Kothari discovered the company was facing insolvency proceedings for other defaults. He further alleges the couple misused his funds for personal gain and ignored multiple recovery attempts.
Legal Response from Shilpa and Raj
In response, the couple’s lawyer, Prashant Patil, dismissed the allegations as “baseless and malicious.” He stated that there is “no criminality involved,” and that all financial documents and cash flow statements were submitted to the EOW.
As the case unfolds, all eyes are on the legal proceedings ahead.
