Bombay High Court Orders Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra to Deposit ₹60 Crore for Foreign Travel Amid Fraud Case

The Bombay High Court has directed Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra to deposit ₹60 crore if they wish to travel to Los Angeles or any other foreign country.

This order comes in response to a petition filed by the couple, seeking the cancellation of a Lookout Circular (LOC) issued against them in connection with an alleged ₹60 crore fraud case.

The case surfaced in August after Deepak Kothari, director of Lotus Capital Financial Services Ltd., filed a complaint accusing Shetty and Kundra of defrauding him of over ₹60 crore.

According to Kothari’s statement, the alleged incidents took place between 2015 and 2023. He claims the couple approached him seeking a loan of ₹75 crore for their company, Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd., which was launched to promote lifestyle products and operate as an online shopping platform.

Initially, the agreement was to provide the loan at 12% interest, but Kothari alleges that Shetty and Kundra convinced him to convert the loan into an investment, promising regular monthly returns and full repayment of the principal.

Kothari says he transferred ₹31.95 crore in April 2015, and another ₹28.53 crore in September 2015. However, he now alleges that the funds were misused for personal expenses, not business development.

Following this, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) issued a Lookout Circular (LOC) against both Shetty and Kundra, preventing them from leaving the country without prior approval.

Last week, Shilpa Shetty was questioned by the EOW for over four hours. However, her exact role in the alleged fraud is still under investigation.