Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra have been charged with cheating a businessman of Rs 60.48 crore. The Mumbai-based businessman Deepak Kothari has accused Shilpa and Raj of using money given for business expansion for their own personal expenses. A case was filed against the couple by Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW).

In the FIR, Deepak alleged that, in 2015, Shilpa and Raj wanted to take a loan from his firm, Lotus Capital Financial Services Limited, through an agent, Rajesh Arya, whom they personally knew. A meeting was set up between them where Raj and Shilpa claimed that they were directors of a now-defunct online retail platform, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd. Shilpa had 87% shares in the company back then. They sought for a loan of Rs 75 crore at 12% interest, said the complainant.

Deepak transferred first instalment of Rs 31.95 crore in April 2015 and Rs 28.54 crore between July 2015 and March 2016. The amount was transferred to Best Deal TV’s bank accounts and the couple had also paid a stamp duty of Rs 3.19 lakh, alleged Deepak. Shilpa had given him a personal guarantee to repay the money but the actor resigned as the company’s director in September 2016 by sending Deepak a mail. When he asked for the reasons, she did not give a satisfactory answer. Soon, in 2017 an insolvency case was initiated against Deepak’s company and his requests for getting his money back weren’t responded to.

Deepak registered the complaint at Juhu Police Station, Mumbai for forgery and cheating. The case was handed over to EOW as the amount involved exceeds Rs 10 crore. EOW is currently investigating the case and tracing the money trail.