Mumbai, February 27: Bigg Boss 16 contestant Abdu Rozik was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday in a money laundering case related to alleged drug kingpin Ali Asghar Shirazi. Rozik was summoned by the ED days after another Bigg Boss 16 contestant, the actor Shiv Thakare, recorded his statement with the investigation agency.
Rozik was the corporate ambassador for the fast food joint ‘Burgiir’. He did not just promote the brand under Hustlers Hospitality, but also allegedly received huge royalties for his endorsement. According to the ED, Shirazi allegedly made substantial investments in the Burgiir through Hustlers Hospitality.
Here's What Rozik Told ED:
However, Rozik told ED officials that he had not received money from Hustlers Hospitality. According to Rozik’s lawyer, Prashant Patil, the Tajik singer and social media influence did not have a written contract with Hustlers Hospitality; they had an oral agreement to make him brand ambassador and receive some part of the profit, Patil said, adding that Hustlers Hospitality reneged on the agreement to give him a share of the profits, he added.
Rozik was called once during opening hours of the Burgiir restaurant for a promotional event, Patil said, adding the singer did not have any investment in the eatery. “My client travelled from Dubai today to assist the investigating authority as a prosecution witness, and when called again, we will cooperate in the investigation,” he said.
According to sources, Rozik told the investigators that he was unaware of any links between Shirazi and Hustlers Hospitality. His interaction with Krunal Ojha, the director of Hustlers, was solely for endorsing the Burgir brand. Recently, the ED also conducted searches at Burgiir restaurant and seized several loose documents as well as one black diary related to transactions.
ED Investigation Reveals...
According to the sources, the ED found during a forensic audit that Ojha received approximately Rs46 lakh through bank transfers from Shirazi’s company, Falisha Venture, as investment. Additionally, he received a substantial amount of cash from Shirazi. In his statement, Ojha revealed that he used the cash he received to pay a significant amount as deposit to the landlord of Burgir. He used the remaining cash for company operations.
However, there is no record of how much money was used for promotion and endorsement for Thakre-linked brand ‘Thakre Chai and Snacks’, and for ‘Burgiir’. The sources said that a substantial amount was spent in cash. Additionally, a significant amount of narco funding was spent on the grand opening announcement of both restaurants, where several Bollywood celebrities joined.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Shirazi became an additional director of Hustlers Hospitality Pvt Ltd through substantial narco funding. The investigation also uncovered that Ojha, in connivance with Shirazi, used Hustlers Hospitality to launder narco proceeds to start a cloud kitchen business. Additionally, Ojha was found to be in receipt of a significant amount of unaccounted cash from Shirazi.
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