Betting to porn racket, Raj Kundra’s tryst with controversy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 20

‘Life is about making the right choices’, ironically reads the Instagram bio of British-Indian entrepreneur Raj Kundra.

Arrested yesterday in an alleged pornographic films case, he was remanded to the police custody till July 23 by a Mumbai court on Tuesday. Husband of actor Shilpa Shetty, Kundra has dabbled in many businesses, including restaurants, precious metals, gaming and TV shows.

Born in the UK, Kundra’s first business stint is said to be with pashmina shawls in Nepal that he sold to fashion houses in the UK. Since then, right from diamonds to sports, he has been associated with various enterprises and as many controversies.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale said, “A case was registered with the Mumbai crime branch in February 2021 on creation of pornographic films and publishing them through apps. We have sufficient evidence against him.”

Kundra’s Viaan Industries had a tie-up with London-based firm Kenrin, which owns “Hotshots” app, allegedly involved in publishing porn films, a police official said.

“Though the company was registered in London, the content creation, operation of the app and accounting was done through Viaan Industries,” said Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime). Kenrin is owned by Kundra’s brother-in-law. Kundra allegedly made money in lakhs through pornographic content.

In a 2020 case related to pornography, Kundra allegedly had applied for anticipatory bail last month. Kundra is accused of making struggling artistes act in porn videos.

An FIR was registered against Kundra after a woman approached the police in February 2021. The case was later transferred to the crime branch.

He was sent to the police custody with his alleged partner Ryan Tharp.

Reportedly, some WhatsApp chats between Kundra and his partners are said to be the key evidence in the case. As per reports, in the chats, Kundra and his partners were discussing profit earned, revenue gains and content as shared on the mobile app on which pornographic films were allegedly uploaded.

Meanwhile, actress Gehana Vasisth, who is out on bail in connection with the same case, said, “The law will take its course. We have full faith in the Mumbai police, but they should not mix up porn with erotic or bold content.”

Ironically, Kundra had written a novel “How Not to Make Money” in 2013.

Once co-owned IPL team Rajasthan royals

• Raj Kundra is former co-owner of Rajasthan Royals
• He had earlier landed in betting and match-fixing row during IPL
• In 2017, a criminal case was lodged against Kundra and Shilpa Shetty for allegedly cheating a textile firm owner of Rs24 lakh
• In 2018, the ED had questioned Kundra in connection with a money laundering probe related to bitcoin transactions