ED questions businessman Raj Kundra in cryptocurrency scam

The Mumbai unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is questioning businessman and actor Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra in connection with a multi-crore cryptocurrency scam in Pune.

Police sources said they stumbled upon some suspicious transactions, following which Kundra was summoned. “We are questioning him,” said a senior ED officer, requesting anonymity. Kundra arrived at the ED zone 2’s south Mumbai office on Tuesday morning; he is likely to be questioned for several hours.

The agency is investigating the money-laundering angle in the scam.

The Bollywood connection to the case came to light after ED investigations revealed that many actresses had promoted the scheme through promotional videos.

A cryptocurrency is a complex, decentralised digital asset that is operated using what is called blockchain technology. Unlike regular currency, there is no regulator or any control over the value of cryptocurrency. The first such currency was Bitcoin, released in 2009; now, over 4,000 cryptocurrencies are available for trade online. They are legal in some countries, but not in India.

As per the police complaint, the accused, Amit Bharadwaj and his brother Vivek Bharadwaj, founders of GainBitcoin company, cheated more than 8,000 investors of around Rs 2,000 crore between June 2017 and January 2018 through a cryptocurrency scheme, wherein they assured attractive returns on investments made in cryptocurrency. The duo was arrested in Pune on April 5.

A case has been filed against the brothers under sections 406, 420, 409, 120 B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors Act (MPID Act), relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and section 3 and 4 of the Price Chit Fund and Money Circulation Act (Banning), at Pune’s Nigdi police station.