Shilpa Shetty and her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, have once again landed in legal trouble. On Friday, Mumbai Police confirmed that a Lookout Circular (LOC) has been issued against the couple in connection with an alleged ₹60 crore cheating case tied to their now-defunct venture, Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd. Officials said the LOC was necessary because of the couple’s frequent international travel. For those not in the know, the case that was registered on August 14 at Juhu police station, stems from a complaint by Mumbai-based businessman Deepak Kothari. He claimed that Shilpa and Raj misled him into investing nearly ₹60 crore under the pretext of business expansion but instead diverted the money for personal use.
Kothari said he was introduced to the couple by Rajesh Arya, at a time when Shilpa and Raj controlled almost 88% of Best Deal TV’s shares. According to his account, the couple first approached him for a ₹75 crore loan at 12% interest. Later, they allegedly convinced him to restructure it as an “investment” to save on taxes, with assurances of steady monthly returns and full repayment of the principal.Trusting them, Kothari said he transferred ₹31.95 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by another ₹28.53 crore in September 2015 through a supplementary agreement. The funds were credited directly to Best Deal TV’s HDFC accounts.But things quickly unraveled. Shilpa stepped down as a director in September 2016, and by 2017, insolvency proceedings were already underway against the company for defaulting on another agreement. Kothari claimed multiple attempts to recover his money through Arya failed, leaving him no choice but to approach the police. The FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) sections 403, 406, and 34.This isn’t the first time the couple has faced such accusations. Earlier this year, bullion businessman Prithviraj Kothari accused them of duping an investor in a gold scheme. Raj Kundra also continues to battle legal scrutiny from his 2021 arrest in the adult content case and is separately being investigated in a Bitcoin-related money laundering probe.Meanwhile, amidst this ₹60 crore case, Shilpa was also in the news for her popular Bandra restaurant shutting down. While people thought it was due to this on-going case or financial troubles, the actress clarified that the restaurant is going nowhere. She is opening a new branch of it in Juhu and at the same place where Bandra Bastian was there, she’s opening a south-Indian restaurant.
