ED summons Raj Kundra in porn biz case, to record statement under PMLA

Kundra’s statement regarding his alleged role in the case will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Mumbai unit has summoned businessman Raj Kundra, husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, for questioning on Monday as part of its money laundering investigation linked to the alleged production and circulation of pornographic content through mobile apps.

Raj Kundra. (File)

Kundra’s statement regarding his alleged role in the case will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), said sources in the investigating agency. The ED is likely to question several other persons accused in the case this week beginning Monday, the sources added.

The decision to question Kundra and others follows raids conducted by the ED earlier this week at 15 locations linked with the accused in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. On Friday, searches were conducted at Mumbai, Kanpur, Gorakhpur and Kushinagar, including at the premises of individuals who allegedly provided technical support for the mobile apps’ operation in lieu of payments.

The ED probe is based on a case registered by Mumbai police in February 2021, following a raid at a bungalow at Madh where a production company was allegedly filming intimate audio-visual content and streaming the videos via mobile apps like Hotshots and some websites. While five persons were arrested from the spot, a 25-year-old female actor who was present at the shoot and was ‘rescued’ by police gave a witness testimony and helped uncover the alleged pornography racket.

The crime branch probe, based on accounts of other witnesses and complainants, later revealed that the accused allegedly used pressure and threats to convince female actors to shoot intimate scenes despite their reluctance. A search was conducted at Kundra’s office in Andheri West, which led to the seizure of several electronic gadgets, storage devices and porn clips related to the racket.

The material recovered from Kundra’s office indicated he was linked to the Hotshots app, which was owned by Kenrin Pvt Ltd. Subsequently, on July 19, 2021, the property cell of the crime branch arrested Kundra and the information technology head of one of his firms, with the probe focussing on tracing links between Kundra and Armsprime Media Pvt Ltd, which controlled the Hotshots app through Kenrin Pvt Ltd. The police later alleged that Armsprime Pvt Ltd was originally owned by Kundra and later sold to Kenrin Pvt Ltd, a firm owned by his relative.

In September 2021, the crime branch filed a charge-sheet against Kundra and other accused, alleging Kundra had earned around ₹1.17 crore from the nearly 20 lakh subscribes of Hotshots between August and December 2020.

That same month, Kundra was granted bail by a Mumbai court as the investigation against him was complete. In his bail plea, he claimed that the videos were shot with the consent of actors. He also claimed that he was the owner of the mobile app for only 10 months, during which time he interacted with some clients but did not take an active part in formulating contracts or creating content.

On Friday, while the raid at Kundra’s residence was underway, advocate Prashant Patil, who represents Shilpa Shetty Kundra, said, “As per my knowledge, there is no Enforcement Directorate raid on Mrs Shilpa Shetty Kundra as she has nothing to do with any offence of whatsoever nature. The case in question is an ongoing investigation regarding Mr Raj Kundra and he is cooperating with the investigation for the truth to come out.”

In April this year, the ED had provisionally attached assets worth ₹97.79 crore belonging to Kundra, including a Juhu flat, in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to a ₹6,600-crore bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme. In October, the agency told the Bombay high court that it would not act on the eviction notices till Kundra’s application challenging the property attachment order was heard and decided upon by an appellate tribunal.