Mumbai: Businessman Raj Kundra, husband of actress Shilpa Shetty, is currently in Britain after skipping two summons in connection with an ongoing money laundering probe linked to a pornography case. According to sources, Kundra has requested an exemption to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The businessman travelled to Britain with his family to care for his ailing father and to make arrangements for his return to India. Kundra is expected back in India by the first week of January. His counsel, Prashant Patil, confirmed that Kundra’s presence in Britain was due to a family medical emergency, and he intended to cooperate with the ED upon his return..
Despite receiving two summons from the ED, Kundra has not appeared before the investigative agencies for over two weeks.
Last month, Kundra sought permission from the Killa Court (Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court) in Mumbai to retrieve his passport and travel to Britain due to his father's critical illness. With the court’s approval, he went to Britain. However, a few days ago, again his father’s condition worsened, prompting Kundra and his family to decide to go to the UK in order to manage his treatment and care.
Kundra recently vehemently denied the allegations of his involvement in the production of pornography. In a statement, he clarified that his role was limited to providing technological services to his brother-in-law’s UK-based company, Kenrin, which hosted the Hotshots app. He described the content as bold, aimed at an adult audience,
He further claimed that the case against him was driven by business rivalry, which escalated into a personal attack. During his time in police custody, he revealed, “One night, someone approached me and asked, ‘Why did you get into a fight with him?’ That’s when I realised who was behind this conspiracy against me.”
Kundra also revealed that he had written to the CBI, providing the names of individuals he believed were behind the conspiracy to damage his reputation. However, he refrained from publicly naming these individuals.
