Shilpa Shetty's Husband Summoned in ₹150 Crore Bitcoin Laundering Case

Source: CryptoTale Original Title: Shilpa Shetty’s Husband Receives Summon For ₹150Cr Bitcoin Scam Original Link:

• Raj Kundra and Rajesh Satija have been summoned by the PMLA in connection with the Ponzi scam.
• Kundra argues that he was a facilitator, not a beneficiary.
• The Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police is probing another Kundra-related ₹60 crore scam.

Raj Kundra has been summoned by the PMLA court in Mumbai in connection with the “Gain Bitcoin” Ponzi scheme money laundering case. Besides Kundra, Rajesh Satija, a businessman in Dubai, is also summoned on January 19. The Mumbai PMLA court accepted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet, which stated that Kundra was involved in a ₹150 crore Bitcoin laundering case.

GainBitcoin Crime Trail Leads to Kundra

According to the probe agency, Raj Kundra is not directly connected to the scam, but he did receive 258 Bitcoins from Amit Bhardwaj, who was arrested in April 2018 for the “Gain Bitcoin” Ponzi scheme money laundering case.

As per the agency, Amit Bhardwaj gave 258 Bitcoins to Raj Kundra for setting up a Bitcoin mining operation in Ukraine that did not proceed. Raj Kundra failed to do so but never returned the 258 Bitcoin, which is valued at around ₹150 crore.

According to investigators’ allegations, Kundra was a beneficial owner of the crypto assets and did not present any documentary evidence to substantiate the origin or legal acquisition of the Bitcoins. The ED has contended that the assets are proceeds of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and hence could be attached and prosecuted.

Ponzi Collapse Fuels Crypto Enforcement Push

The GainBitcoin scheme was an aggressive promotion during the Indian crypto boom in its early years that promised fixed monthly Bitcoin returns through a cloud mining contract. Stopping payouts caused the scheme to collapse, revealing what the authorities described as a massive Ponzi scheme. Several wallets, shell entities, and cross-border crypto are now under continued forensic analysis.

The Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police is investigating a ₹60 crore investor fraud involving Kundra’s business ventures, escalating regulatory interests in his business dealings. Although both cases are still in court, enforcement officials have increased the level of control and forensic audits.

The case comes to a delicate point in India’s crypto ecosystem. With regulators already alert to frauds, scams, and unregulated token trades, high-profile names associated with crypto laundering cement the tough position taken by enforcement agencies on digital assets.

Kundra has claimed that he was nothing more than a facilitator, not a beneficiary. Officials view his explanations with skepticism. As the ED continues to advance and courts have become part of the case, the case is likely to remain a prime resource in India’s current crypto enforcement history.

Is Raj Kundra heading toward one of India’s first major crypto-linked convictions, or will the case collapse under the weight of circumstantial blockchain evidence?