Lookout Notice Against Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra In Rs 60-Crore Cheating Case
A lookout circular is a mechanism used to prevent a person from leaving the country or to track their movements, typically by issuing an alert to immigration and border control points.
The Mumbai police issued a lookout circular on Friday against Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her businessman-husband, Raj Kundra, in connection with a Rs 60-crore cheating case.
The LOC was issued by the economic offences wing of the city police as the couple makes frequent international trips, as per PTI report. A lookout circular is a mechanism used to prevent a person from leaving the country or to track their movements, typically by issuing an alert to immigration and border control points.
The case was registered on Aug. 14 at Juhu police station, where the couple was accused of duping a businessman of nearly Rs 60 crore in a loan-cum-investment deal linked to their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd.
In his complaint, 60-year-old Juhu-based businessman Deepak Kothari, director of Lotus Capital Finance Services (a non-banking financial company), stated that he came into contact with Shetty and Kundra through Rajesh Arya. At the time, Shetty and Kundra were directors of Best Deal TV, a home shopping and online retail platform.
Through Arya, they had sought a loan of Rs 75 crore, but to avoid higher taxation, they allegedly showed it as an investment, as per the complaint. They also promised monthly return (of the loan) and repayment of the principal, the official said.
According to the FIR, the complainant claimed he transferred Rs 31.9 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement, followed by another Rs 28.53 crore under a supplementary agreement in September 2015.
As per the complainant, he had given the loan of Rs 60.4 crore for business expansion during the period from 2015 to 2023. After providing a guarantee in April 2016, Shetty resigned as director of the company in September 2016, the businessman said in his complaint.
Kothari later discovered that insolvency proceedings had been initiated against the company in 2017 for defaulting on another agreement.
In August, a lawyer representing Shetty and Kundra had dismissed the allegations, calling the case "baseless and malicious" and asserting that it was an attempt to malign their reputation. The lawyer also said appropriate legal action was being initiated against the complainant.
