Mumbai Mirror: Mumbai: Wednesday, June 06, 2018.
Kundra
had filed an application under Right To Information (RTI) with the Delhi
Police, who in their reply said there's "no evidence" of betting
charges against him.
Businessman
Raj Kundra was on Tuesday summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in
connection with the Bitcoin scam. The ED questioned Kundra, husband of actor
Shilpa Shetty, in connection with a money laundering probe related to a Bitcoin
transactions case, involving Indian investor Amit Bhardwaj.
Kundra's name
turned up in the report following alleged links with Bhardwaj. According to
media reports, Bhardwaj had started the country's first online marketplace
which accepted Bitcoins and had also started Bitcoin mining start-ups. He
reportedly lured in investors with promises of hefty returns, assuring the
investors of access to the Bitcoin mining system that would let them mine their
own Bitcoins.
The ED had
registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
against bitcoin-based investment website GainBitcoin, its founder Amit Bhardwaj
and eight others. It is alleged that about 8,000 investors lost about Rs 2,000
crore funds by transacting in this scheme.
The ED had
filed its case based on an FIR by the Maharashtra Police in this case and the Pune
Police arrested Bhardwaj and his brother Vivek from Delhi earlier. Reportedly,
Bhardwaj was behind ventures like GainBitcoin, GBMiners, MCAP and GB21, and the
investors were allegedly duped after transactions on these portals.
Kundra had
allegedly promoted one of Bhardwaj's operations.
The
businessman was summoned at the ED Mumbai office and was asked questions about
his involvement in the trade, termed as illegal by the government. There are
some instances of the case where Kundra's name crops up and hence, he has been
asked to record his statement.
In a
statement, Raj Kundra said, "Amit was to buy a team in poker league and
had got into a contract with us. I have come as a witness to the same."
Raj Kundra
was previously embroiled in the IPL betting scandal and was banned from all
cricket-related activities for life. Kundra filed a petition in the Supreme
Court challenging the ban. Kundra had filed an application under Right To
Information (RTI) with the Delhi Police, who in their reply said there's
"no evidence" of betting charges against him.
Last month,
the Gujarat branch of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had arrested
Kirit Paladiya for stealing Bitcoins from his partner. According to the police
authorities, Paladiya stole 176 Bitcoins worth over Rs 9 crore from his partner
Shailesh Bhatt.
Also,
Amreli's Superintendent of Police Jagdish Patel, Amreli local Crime Branch
inspector Anant Patel and two other constables were arrested for being involved
in the case.
The central
agency has expanded its probe into this case and is also investigating related
Bitcoin or cryptocurrency transactions that are under the scanner of other
departments.
It is alleged
that Bhardwaj and his associates allegedly duped investors to the tune of Rs
2,000 crore in Mumbai, Pune, Nanded, Kolhapur and other places in Maharashtra.
Last year,
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had informed the Parliament that there are no
regulations governing virtual currencies in India and the RBI has not given any
licence to any entity or company to operate such currencies.
The
government had also cautioned investors to be wary of virtual currencies such
as Bitcoin, saying they are like Ponzi schemes with no legal tender and
protection.
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