According to an official, the Directorate of Enforcement has temporarily attached properties worth Rs 97.79 crore that belong to Raj Kundra by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The attached properties, as per the ED officials, consist of equity shares, a residential bungalow in Pune, and a residential flat in Juhu.
“Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office has provisionally attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs. 97.79 Crore belonging to Ripu Sudan Kundra, aka Raj Kundra, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The attached properties include a Residential flat situated in Juhu presently in the name of Smt. Shilpa Shetty, a residential bungalow situated in Pune, and Equity shares in the name of Raj Kundra,” the ED stated.
The investigation by the ED was prompted by several First Information Reports (FIRs) filed by the Delhi Police and Maharashtra Police against Variable Tech Pte Ltd, Late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj, Mahender Bhardwaj, and several multilevel marketing (MLM) agents. It has been claimed that these individuals amassed enormous sums of money in the form of Bitcoins (worth Rs 6600 Crore in 2017 alone) from the credulous public under the pretenses of providing them with a 10% monthly return in the form of Bitcoins.
Investors were expected to receive enormous returns on their cryptocurrency holdings, and the gathered Bitcoins were meant to be used for Bitcoin mining. However, the promoters defrauded the investors, hiding the illicitly obtained Bitcoins in secret virtual wallets, according to the ED.
“ED investigation revealed that Raj Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from the mastermind and promoter of Gain Bitcoin Ponzi Scam, Amit Bhardwaj for setting up Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. The said Bitcoins were sourced from 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, the ED stated.
Three people were taken into custody in this matter following several search operations that were conducted earlier: Simpy Bhardwaj on December 17, 2023, Nitin Gaur on December 29, 2023, and Nikhil Mahajan on January 16, 2023. According to the ED, they are all currently detained by the courts.
“The main accused, Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj are still absconding. Earlier, ED had attached properties worth Rs 69 crore. The Prosecution Complaint in this was filed on 11.06.2019 and Supplementary Prosecution Complaint on 14.02.2024. The Hon’ble Special PMLA Court has taken cognizance of the same,” the ED stated.
Investigations are still being conducted further.