Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty deny involvement in Ponzi scheme. (document)

New Delhi:

Businessman Raj Kundra shared a cryptic post late last night about keeping calm after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized his assets worth Rs 977.9 crore in a probe related to a Bitcoin Ponzi scheme.

Mr. Kundra, husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, shared a picture of a roaring lion on Instagram Stories with the caption: “Learning to stay calm when you feel disrespected is another type of growth.”

The assets seized from them include a residential flat in Juhu registered in the name of Shilpa Shetty, a residential bungalow in Pune and equity shares of Mr Kundra.

The couple denied any involvement in the case. Their lawyers said in a statement yesterday that no charges had been brought against them and they were confident the investigation would be fair.

“There is no prima facie case against my clients Mr. Raj Kundra and Mrs. Shilpa Shetty Kundra. I am confident that when we make a fair representation before the honorable Enforcement Directorate, even the investigating agency may do justice to us. We Trust in a fair investigation,” said their lawyer Prashant Patil.

A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that lures investors with the promise of huge profits with little or no risk. But instead of investing the money, the scammers tried to attract more investors and use recent funds to pay the initial investors.

The latest investigation involves allegations that Mr Kundla received 285 bitcoins from the mastermind behind the Ponzi scheme, which he intended to use to set up a bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine. However, the deal did not materialize and Mr. Kundra was left with over 1.5 billion rupees worth of Bitcoins.

This is not the first time Kundera has faced a police investigation. In 2021, he was arrested on suspicion of producing and distributing pornographic movies. The Supreme Court later granted him bail.