Raj Kundra has been making headlines ever since he was arrested for being the ‘key conspirator’ in a pornographic content production case. But this is not his first brush with the law.
Just like anyone of us, even Raj Kundra started out small but as his business grew, he soon found himself surrounded with controversies one after the other.
1. The time when he was banned from IPL for life in a betting case.
Raj Kundra was banned from IPL for life for his alleged involvement in betting. Not just that, cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankit Chavan were also arrested for the same by the Delhi Police. Following this, Rajasthan Royals was suspended for two seasons from the IPL. Later on, Kundra appealed to the Supreme Court for the clearance of these charges. According to the Times Of India, he was given a clean chit but he no longer associates himself with the team.
2. The time he was involved in a hit-and-run case.
Earlier this year, an Audi R8 (previously owned by Raj Kundra) was involved in a hit-and-run case in Bengaluru. Although the businessman had sold his car to a car dealer, for some reason the vehicle was still in his name and was yet to be changed. The car rammed into two two-wheelers and an autorickshaw. The accused was identified and he was ready to pay for the damages.
3. The time when Poonam Pandey filed a case against Raj Kundra.
According to Mid-Day, back in 2019, actor and model, Poonam Pandey had filed a case against Raj Kundra along with his associates from Armsprime Media. The said company was responsible for handling her app. She accused him of illegally using her videos after her contract had ended. She even shared that post the disagreement with them, her numbers and her images were leaked.
4. The time when Raj Kundra & Shilpa Shetty were allegedly involved in a textile cheating case.
The Maharashtra Police had filed a case against the couple for allegedly cheating a textile firm owner of ₹24 lakhs in 2017. The textile firm owner alleged that both Raj and Shilpa collected the money on his behalf but had failed to pay him.
5. The time when he was questioned by the ED for his involvement in a money laundering case
In 2019, the Enforcement Directorate questioned the businessman for his dealing with a real estate agent, Ranjeet Bindra. Ranjeet was arrested in a money laundering case that also involved drug lord Iqbal Mirchi. While in conversation with the Times of India, he mentioned that:
I have provided whatever information ED required. My only deal with Ranjeet Bindra was acquiring a 50% stake in Bastian Hospitality. What his links are and what past transactions he has done were never known to me. As a management decision we have initiated the process to remove him as director of the company whilst the issue is in court.
6. The time when Raj and Shilpa were summoned to court for alleged delay in TDS payment.
Both Shilpa and Raj were summoned by the Ballard Pier magistrate’s court for a delay in paying TDS in 2019. They were called in for two separate cases regarding the same complaint. As per sources, when calculated, the delayed payments were ₹88.8 lacs TDS in 2015-16, and ₹58.8 lacs TDS in 2016-17.
7. The time when he was also involved in a bitcoin money laundering case.
In 2018, the Enforcement Directorate called in Raj to question his connection with money laundering related to a bitcoin transaction case. A case was filed against a bitcoin-based investment website named GainBitcoin under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It is said that 8,000 investors lost around ₹2000 crore due to the scheme.
8. The time he was accused of allegedly creating pornographic content.
Coming to the present day, Raj Kundra was arrested on Monday for his involvement in the production of creating pornographic films and also promoting them through apps. As per The Indian Express, he will be produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court for custody. Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale mentioned that Raj seems to be the key conspirator in this and the investigation is in process to extract more information.
Well, it seems like wherever there’s any controversy, Raj Kundra finds his way to it.