By Prasant Panday
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 20 : A special court on Friday granted bail to Shilpa Shetty's husband and businessman Raj Kundra after he appeared before it in a money laundering case linked to an alleged Bitcoin investment scam.
The special PMLA court in Mumbai granted him bail after he presented himself before the court in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case is linked to an alleged Bitcoin scam from 2018.
Soon after getting bail, Kundra spoke briefly to the mediapersons outside the court and said, "Satyamev Jayate...".
Kundra's advocate, Prashant Patil, also spoke toand stated that the ED had filed a chargesheet against his client, but there was no strong basis for it. He said that Raj Kundra has been cooperating with the ED since 2018 and has always appeared when called.
"The ED has filed a chargesheet against Raj Kundra. According to us, there is no merit in the chargesheet. Today, we filed a bail application. Since 2018, Raj Kundra has been appearing before the ED," Patil told ANI.
"There has never been an instance when he did not cooperate with the ED. He has been granted bail on a surety amount of Rs 1 lakh. He has to seek permission from the court before traveling abroad," he added.
The case is linked to FIRs registered in 2018 at Nigdi and Nanded police stations in Pune. The complaint alleges that investors were cheated in the name of Bitcoin mining. The central probe agency has alleged that Kundra received 285 Bitcoins from the alleged mastermind of the Gain Bitcoin Ponzi scam, Amit Bhardwaj.
The agency has also alleged that Kundra did not share details of the wallet address linked to these Bitcoins. It further claimed that he and his wife bought properties at prices much lower than market rates to make the money appear legal.
Meanwhile, as per the court order, Kundra will now have to follow bail conditions, including taking court permission before leaving the country.
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