The Enforcement Directorate has charged businessman Raj Kundra as the “beneficial owner” of 285 Bitcoins worth ₹150.47 crore, alleging his active role in laundering proceeds from a crypto Ponzi scheme led by late scamster Amit Bhardwaj.
Filed before a special PMLA court, the chargesheet asserts that Kundra did not merely act as a mediator but directly acquired and retained the Bitcoins, originally intended to fund a now-defunct mining operation in Ukraine. The ED alleges Kundra withheld crucial evidence, including Bitcoin wallet addresses, and failed to surrender the digital assets even after repeated demands since 2018.
“Kundra deliberately concealed crucial evidence,” the chargesheet stated, citing his refusal to provide wallet details and a questionable claim that his iPhone X containing them was damaged shortly after his initial statement. The agency dismissed the explanation as a “deliberate attempt to destroy evidence and conceal the proceeds of crime.”
According to the ED, the cryptocurrency was routed through obscure wallets to hide funds acquired through fraudulent crypto-mining promises. FIRs filed by Maharashtra and Delhi Police against Bhardwaj and associates alleged that investors were lured with false claims of high returns through Variable Tech Pvt Ltd.
The ED further alleged that Kundra entered a financial transaction with his wife, actor Shilpa Shetty, to mask the origin of these funds. “He did a genuine transaction with his actor wife Shilpa Shetty at far below market rate to disguise the origin of such funds obtained by commission of criminal activities,” the chargesheet said.
The agency argued that Kundra’s retention of the exact number of Bitcoins received over seven years—split across five tranches — indicated direct and continued possession. “This solidifies the fact that he was indeed the recipient of Bitcoins as a beneficial owner and not acted merely as a mediator,” the chargesheet noted.
The ED concluded that the agreement to obtain the Bitcoins was solely between Kundra and Amit Bhardwaj, as well as Bhardwaj’s father Mahender Bhardwaj, rejecting Kundra’s defense. Businessman Rajesh Satija was also named in the chargesheet.
