ED Files Chargesheet Against Raj Kundra in Rs 150 Crore Bitcoin Scam
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against businessman Raj Kundra, the husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, for money laundering involving a bitcoin scam. The authorities claim that he held 285 bitcoins, worth around Rs 150.47 crore. Apart from Kundra, the other person named in the chargesheet is businessman Rajesh Satija. The chargesheet is filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court.
The ED is claiming that Kundra was not just a middleman in the transactions, as he says, but actually the main person who benefited from them. As per ED, he got these 285 Bitcoins from a late mastermind, Amit Bhardwaj. The amount was allegedly supposed to be used for establishing a bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. But this never happened, and Kundra continued to hold 285 Bitcoins.
The incident came to light after the FIRs were filed by both the Delhi and Maharashtra police. These were filed against a company named Variable Tech Pvt Ltd, the late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpy Bhardwaj and Mahender Bhardwaj.
As per investigations, the investors were promised to get huge returns in crypto assets, with their money supposedly being used to mine Bitcoins. However, the investors were betrayed by the promoters, who allegedly hid the ill-gotten bitcoin in obscure online wallets.
The ED claimed in the chargesheet that Kundra tried to stop the investigation under the PMLA by covering the proceeds of crime and making it look legal.
As per the investigation agency, Kundra intentionally tried to hide the important evidence, such as the Bitcoin wallet address, and did not give the Bitcoins that he got from Bhardwaj. Even after multiple chances since 2018, he could never provide the wallet address where the Bitcoins were moved. He made excuses, like his iPhone X is damaged. However, ED believed that he was intentionally trying to clear the evidence and hide the proceeds of the crime.
The agency also claimed that he continued to hold them and made a ‘genuine transaction‘ with his wife, Shilpa Shetty, to sell them at a price lower than the market rate so that the illegal origin of the money could be covered.
On the other side, Kundra is saying that he was just a mediator, but he failed to submit any documents to prove this. ED claims that the agreement named “Term Sheet” was signed between Kundra and Mahendera Bhardwaj. Based on this, the ED stated in its chargesheet that the agreement was actually between Raj Kundra and Amit Bhardwaj (his father, Mahender Bhardwaj), making Kundra’s claim of being just a mediator unjustified.
The chargesheet also stated that Kundra knew the exact number of Bitcoins he received in five different instalments even after more than seven years. This proves that he was the actual beneficiary of the Bitcoins, not just a mediator.
