Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra’s legal team has strongly refuted reports claiming that the Income Tax Department conducted a raid at her Mumbai residence in connection with the alleged Rs 60 crore fraud case.
In an official statement issued on behalf of the actress on Thursday (December 18), advocate Prashant Patil clarified that no Income Tax “raid” of any nature has taken place at Shilpa's premises. He stated that what occurred was only a routine verification by Income Tax officials as part of standard follow-up procedures.
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“On behalf of my client Mrs Shilpa Shetty Kundra, I can confirm that there is no Income Tax ‘raid’ whatsoever against my client. There is a routine verification by the Income Tax officials pertaining to follow-up with my client,” the statement read.
The lawyer further warned that claims linking the alleged Income Tax action to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) case are “mischievous” and misleading. He said that anyone making such assertions in the public domain would face legal consequences.
“Whomsoever has mischievously claimed in the public domain that these developments have anything to do with the alleged Economic Offence Wing case shall face legal consequences before the appropriate court of law,” Patil added.
On Thursday, media reports had claimed that the Income Tax Department conducted a raid at Shilpa’s Mumbai home in connection with the Rs 60 crore fraud case. According to those reports, search operations were also carried out on December 17 at Bastian, a restaurant co-owned by Shilpa in Mumbai’s Dadar area and in Bengaluru.
Shilpa and her husband Raj Kundra also recently called out 'baseless' reports of being charged with cheating in the fraud case. For those unversed, on December 17, it was reported that the EOW registered a case against Shilpa and Raj under the charge of cheating, Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
Taking to her Instagram story, Shilpa stated, "We categorically deny the baseless and motivated allegations being circulated. The issues sought to be raised are being given a criminal colour without any lawful basis. A Quashing Petition has already been filed before the Hon'ble High Court and is pending adjudication."
Her official statement further read, "Having fully cooperated with the investigation, we are sanguine that justice will prevail and have complete faith in the law enforcement authorities and the judicial system of our country. We respectfully urge the media to exercise restraint as the matter is sub judice."
About the fraud case
The case was registered in Mumbai on August 14 against Shilpa and Raj, who were directors of the now-defunct Best Deal TV Private Limited, a home shopping and online retail platform. They are accused of allegedly cheating businessman Deepak Kothari of nearly Rs 60 crore in a loan-cum-investment deal.
According to Kothari, between 2015 and 2023, the couple persuaded him to invest Rs 60 crore in Best Deal TV Private Limited. He alleged that instead of being used for business purposes, the funds were diverted for their personal benefit.
During the course of the investigation, Raj claimed that a portion of the Rs 60 crore was paid as professional fees to actresses Bipasha Basu and Neha Dhupia.
