The attached properties include a residential flat in Juhu, which is in the name of Shilpa Shetty, another residential bungalow in Pune and equity shares in the name of Ra Kundra.
The financial probe agency had initiated the investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs lodged by Maharashtra Police and Delhi Police against late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpi Bhardwaj, Mahende Bhardwaj and several MLM agents of Variable Tech Pte Ltd.
It has been alleged that he collected huge amounts of money in the form of Bitcoin (worth Rs 6,600 crore in 2017) from the public with the false promise of 10 percent returns per month.
The collected Bitcoins were to be used for Bitcoin mining, giving investors huge returns in the crypto asset.
“But the promoters defrauded investors and are hiding the ill-gotten bitcoins in obscure online wallets.“The investigation also revealed that Raj Kundra had received 285 Bitcoins from Amit Bhardwaj, the mastermind and promoter of the Gain Bitcoin Ponzz scam, for setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine,” the ED said in a statement issued on Thursday.
The said Bitcoins were obtained from the proceeds of crime collected by Ami Bhardwaj from gullible investors.
“Since the deal did not go through, Kundra still has 285 Bitcoins, which is currently worth more than Rs. ₹150 crore,” the ED official said.
During the investigation, several search operations were conducted in this case and three people were arrested."Simpy Bhardwaj was arrested on December 17, 2023, Nitin Gaur on December 29, 2023, and Nikhil Mahajan on January 16, 2023. All of them are currently in judicial custody," the official said.
However, the main accused Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj are still absconding.
Earlier, ED had seized assets worth Rs 69 crore. In this, the prosecution complaint was filed on June 11, 2019 and the supplementary prosecution complaint was filed on February 14, 2024.
“The special PMLA court has taken cognizance of it. Further investigation is in progress,” the officer said.
The financial probe agency had initiated the investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs lodged by Maharashtra Police and Delhi Police against late Amit Bhardwaj, Ajay Bhardwaj, Vivek Bhardwaj, Simpi Bhardwaj, Mahende Bhardwaj and several MLM agents of Variable Tech Pte Ltd.
It has been alleged that he collected huge amounts of money in the form of Bitcoin (worth Rs 6,600 crore in 2017) from the public with the false promise of 10 percent returns per month.
The collected Bitcoins were to be used for Bitcoin mining, giving investors huge returns in the crypto asset.
“But the promoters defrauded investors and are hiding the ill-gotten bitcoins in obscure online wallets.“The investigation also revealed that Raj Kundra had received 285 Bitcoins from Amit Bhardwaj, the mastermind and promoter of the Gain Bitcoin Ponzz scam, for setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine,” the ED said in a statement issued on Thursday.
The said Bitcoins were obtained from the proceeds of crime collected by Ami Bhardwaj from gullible investors.
“Since the deal did not go through, Kundra still has 285 Bitcoins, which is currently worth more than Rs. ₹150 crore,” the ED official said.
During the investigation, several search operations were conducted in this case and three people were arrested."Simpy Bhardwaj was arrested on December 17, 2023, Nitin Gaur on December 29, 2023, and Nikhil Mahajan on January 16, 2023. All of them are currently in judicial custody," the official said.
However, the main accused Ajay Bhardwaj and Mahendra Bhardwaj are still absconding.
Earlier, ED had seized assets worth Rs 69 crore. In this, the prosecution complaint was filed on June 11, 2019 and the supplementary prosecution complaint was filed on February 14, 2024.
“The special PMLA court has taken cognizance of it. Further investigation is in progress,” the officer said.
