ED raids Raj Kundra, others in 'porno' films case

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided the premises of businessman Raj Kundra, the husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, and some others as part of a money laundering case linked to alleged distribution of pornographic and adult movies, official sources said.

Around 15 locations in Mumbai and some cities in Uttar Pradesh are being searched, including the home and office of 49-year-old Kundra and some other persons, the sources said. The agency is understood to be questioning Kundra at one of these premises. Shetty's lawyer Prashant Patil said that the action was not against the actor and Kudra was "cooperating in the investigation for the truth to come out." This money laundering case of May 2022 stems from at least two Mumbai police FIRs and charge sheets filed against Kundra and others. The businessman and some others were arrested in the case and later granted bail.This is the second money laundering case against Kundra. Early this year, the ED had attached assets worth Rs 98 crore of Kundra and Shetty in a crypto currency case.

The couple, however, obtained relief from the Bombay High Court against this attachment order. The businessman told a local Mumbai court in 2021 that there was not even an iota of evidence with the prosecution (Mumbai Police) that would connect the app 'Hotshots', used in the alleged porn films racket, with an offence under law.

According to the probe agency, the 'Hotshots' app was being used by accused persons for uploading and streaming obscene content. Kundra had claimed there was no evidence of him being "actively" involved in the creation of alleged porn content. He had claimed he was falsely implicated and was not even named in the FIR and was dragged by the respondent (police) in the case. The businessman claimed in the plea that he is being made a "scapegoat" for reasons best known to investigators.

The police had filed FIRs based on complaints received from two women, while another woman had submitted a complaint at the Lonavla police station. During investigation, it came to light that some small-time artistes were lured by giving them breaks in some web series or short stories, police had said.