Tag : PMLA

    ED begins probe against Raj Kundra in porn films case

    Pushkar Raj Kapoor
    May20/ 2022

    Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched an anti-money-laundering investigation into an alleged pornographic films case in which businessman Raj Kundra and others were arrested by the Mumbai Police crime branch in 2021, officials said on Thursday.The federal agency has filed a complaint under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after studying at least two police first information reports (FIRs) and subsequent charge sheets before a court. Kundra, husband of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, and his associate Ryan Thorpe were arrested and later granted bail in the case. A few others were arrested too. Kundra,46, was arrested by the Mumbai police crime branch last year after being booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Information Technology Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. The businessman had told a local Mumbai court last year that there was not even an iota of evidence with the prosecution that would connect the app 'Hotshots', used in the alleged porn films racket, with an offence under the law. According to the probe agency, the 'Hotshots' app was being used by the accused for uploading and streaming obscene content. Kundra had claimed there was no evidence of him being 'actively' involved in the creation of alleged questionable porn content. He had said he was falsely implicated and was not even named in the FIR and was dragged by the respondent (police) in the case. The businessman claimed in the plea that he is being made a 'scapegoat' for reasons best known to investigators. The police had filed FIRs on the basis of complaints received from two women. During the investigation it came to light that some small-time artistes were lur ...

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