Raj Kundra was finalising deal to sell 119 porn films for $1.2 mn: Mumbai Police

Mumbai Police has told a local court that the Indian-British businessman and actor Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra was finalising a deal to sell 119 adult films for $1.2 million. The police cited Kundra's WhatsApp chats to make this allegation.

"While probing the case, we stumbled upon certain chats which revealed that Kundra was on the verge of inking a deal to sell already produced 119 adult films for $1.2 million. We need to investigate if the videos were already transferred to the buyer," the police said in its remand copy, the Economic Times reported.

"Their auditor and IT developer told us that the monthly spending in the operation was 4,000 to 10,000," the police added. The crime branch is investigating another angle related to a cricket betting company called Mercury International. A lot of money was transferred from this company's account to Kundra's bank account. The police are looking at whether profits earned from the racket run by Kundra were being allocated towards cricket betting.

Also read: 'Have survived challenges in past': Shilpa Shetty's first post after Raj Kundra's arrest

Meanwhile, the Mumbai police's crime branch has recorded the official statement of Shilpa Shetty in the case since she operated from the Viaan Industries office as a director. She resigned from the post in 2020. Police also asked about the exact cause behind her resignation from Viaan Industries. Apart from this, cops also asked Shilpa Shetty about how long she was the director of Viaan Industries and whether she knew about the pornography racket.

The actor's accounts will also be scrutinised to identify if she profited from this racket. Meanwhile, Raj Kundra's police custody has been extended till July 27 (Tuesday) in the case registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act, and Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

Also read: Mumbai court extends Raj Kundra's police custody till July 27

Also read: Mumbai Police records Shilpa Shetty's statement in porn racket case involving Raj Kundra