ED attaches Rs 98 cr worth assets of actor Shilpa Shetty, husband Raj Kundra in Bitcoin fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate said it has attached assets worth Rs 98 crore, including a bungalow in Pune and equity shares, of actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra as part of a money laundering investigation.

The case pertains to cheating of investor funds through use of Bitcoins. The attached properties include a residential flat in Juhu (Mumbai) presently in the name of Shetty and residential bungalow in Pune and equity shares in the name of Kundra, the federal agency said in a statement.

A provisional attachment order has been issued under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach these properties worth Rs 97. 79 crore.

The promoters cheated the investors and have been concealing the ill-gotten Bitcoins in obscure online wallets, the ED alleged.

Kundra, it claimed, received 285 Bitcoins from the mastermind and promoter of Gain Bitcoin Ponzi "s" Amit Bhardwaj for setting up Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine.

Kundra is still in possession of 285 Bitcoins which are presently valued at more than Rs 150 crore, the ED said.