ED Seizes ₹97.79 Crore Assets of Raj Kundra

In a major development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth ₹97.79 crore belonging to businessman Raj Kundra in connection with its money-laundering investigation into an alleged ₹6,600 crore Bitcoin-based ponzi scheme.

The attached properties include a residential flat in Juhu, Mumbai, currently in the name of Kundra's wife and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, as well as a residential bungalow in Pune and equity shares in Kundra's name.

According to ED sources, Kundra is suspected of being a beneficiary of the proceeds of crime in the case, which involves a Singapore-based firm called Variable Tech Private Limited.

The agency alleges that Variable Tech collected a staggering 80,000 bitcoins from gullible investors across the country by promising high returns, but diverted the funds worth ₹6,606 crore through 9 firms to purchase properties abroad.

Interestingly, the ED claims that Kundra himself received 285 bitcoins, worth over ₹150 crore currently, from the alleged mastermind Amit Bhardwaj for setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. However, the deal did not materialize, leaving Kundra in possession of the illicit cryptocurrency.

The main accused in the case, Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj, remain absconding, while the ED had earlier arrested Delhi-based businessman Nikhil Mahajan for allegedly helping promote the alleged scam.

The investigation into the massive Bitcoin ponzi scheme was initiated by the ED in 2018, based on multiple police cases registered against Variable Tech and its agents across Maharashtra and Delhi.