The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned businessman Raj Kundra, the husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged illegalཧ distribution of pornographic movies, official sources said on Sunday.
T🌳hey said Kundra has been asked to depose before the in꧅vestigating officer of the case on December 2 or any other day of the week in case he is not able to appear on Monday.
Some others involved in the case, including a businessman from Kush🌠inagar in Uttar Pradesh, have also been summoned during the week, the sources added.
The central agency raided the premises of Kundra in Mumbai and those of other persons located in some cities of Uttar Pradesh on December 29.
Kundra said on Saturd🥂ay that he was "f🌟ully complying" with the ongoing investigation that has been unfolding for the last four years.
Shetty's lawy🥃er has told PTI that the action was not against the actor a♛nd that Kundra was "cooperating in the investigation for the truth to come out".
The 🐻money laundering case of May 2022 stems from at least two Mumbai Police FIRs and chargesheets filed againstᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ 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 to Kundra and Shetty in a cryptocurrency case.
The couple, however, obtained relief from the Bombay High Court against this attachment order.
The businessman told a local court in 2021 that there was not even an iota of evidence by the prosecution (Mumbai Police) that would connect the app 'Hotshots', u𒁃sed in the a🔴lleged porn films racket, with an offense under the 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 bei꧋ng "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 bei♎ng made a "scapegoat" for reasons best known to investigators.
The police had filed FIRs on the basis of complaints received from two women, while another woman had submitted a complaint at the Lonavla police station, ar🍌ound 120 km from Mumbai.
During the investigation, it came to light that someꦿ smal💙l-time artistes were lured with the promise of giving them breaks in some web series or short stories, police said.
These actors were calle𝓀d for auditions and were asked to act 'bold' scenes, which later turned out to be seminude or nude scenes, which were againsꩵt the wishes of the actors, officials said.
During the police investigation, it also came to light that🌊 there are many 'porn-like apps' (applications) operating in cyberspace.
The police had told the court that its probe found that Kundra set up Armsprime Media Pvt Ltd, whi⭕ch, through the London-based Kenrin Pvt Ltd, bought the Hotshots app to upload "objectionable videos" on social media.
Kundra's phone contained WhatsApp chats regarding Kenrin and its financial transactions. These conversations also revealed that he had discussed selling 119 adult films to a person for USD 1.2 million, poli🌼ce had said.
