Businessman Raj Kundra on Friday secured bail from a PMLA court in Mumbai in connection with an alleged Bitcoin scam case, newswire ANI reported. He was seen arriving at the court earlier in the day.
However, a special court had observed in January that there is sufficient prima facie material to proceed against Kundra for offenses punishable under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and issued him a summons in the matter, news agency PTI reported.
Details about the case
The case dates back to April 2024, when the Enforcement Directorate attached properties worth ₹97.79 crores belonging to Raj Kundra and his wife, Shilpa Shetty, alleging that they had collected large sums of funds in the form of Bitcoins.
The agency further alleged investors were lured with false promises of 10% returns in bitcoin. According to the ED, Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from Amit Bharadwaj, the mastermind behind the Gain Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme, ANI reported.
Kundra reportedly received the crypto assets to set up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. However, as the proposed venture did not materialize, the businessman continues to hold 285 Bitcoins, which are currently valued at more than ₹150 crore, the ED told news agency PTI.
Were those bitcoins found?
The charge sheet filed against Kundra stated that he claimed to have acted merely as a mediator in the said transaction but failed to furnish “any underlying documentary evidence to prove the same”.
On the contrary, the prosecution noted that the agreement titled “Term Sheet” was signed between him and Mahendra Bhardwaj. “Thus, it can be safely concluded that the agreement was actually between Raj Kundra and Amit Bhardwaj (his father, Mahender Bhardwaj) and the argument given by Kundra that he acted as a mere mediator is not tenable,” the charge sheet said.
The charge sheet further claimed that Kundra remembers the exact number of Bitcoins received in five specific tranches, even more than seven years after the transactions took place, which “solidifies the fact that he was indeed the recipient of Bitcoins as a beneficial owner and not acted merely as a mediator.”
The probe agency has also alleged that, despite being given multiple opportunities since 2018, Kundra has consistently failed to provide the wallet addresses where the 285 Bitcoins were transferred. He reportedly cited damage to his iPhone PTI reported.
