Businessman Raj Kundra has got bail from a special court in Mumbai in a money laundering case related to Bitcoin scam. After getting bail, he looked quite relieved while leaving the court premises. However, he did not talk to the media and left the place directly with his lawyer.
Court grants bail to Raj Kundra
According to the report, on Friday the special PMLA court of Mumbai granted him bail. A case was registered against Raj Kundra under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Earlier, the court had expressed the possibility of action against him on the basis of available evidence and issued summons. Special PMLA judge R. B. Rote had taken cognizance of the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January. After this Raj Kundra was asked to appear in the court. During his appearance, he filed a bail application, which was accepted by the court.
What did Raj Kundra’s lawyer say?
Raj Kundra’s lawyer Prashant Patil says that his client is fully cooperating in the ED investigation since 2021. He argued that all the necessary documents related to the case were already with the investigating agency, so there was no need to keep him in custody. ED alleges that Raj Kundra had received 285 Bitcoins from Amit Bhardwaj, the mastermind of the alleged ‘Gain Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme’, with the aim of setting up a Bitcoin mining firm in Ukraine. The agency claims that the deal could not be completed, but the concerned bitcoins are still with them, whose current value is said to be more than Rs 150 crore.
ED claimed
According to the charge sheet, Raj Kundra has described himself as only a mediator. However, the investigating agency says that there was a formal agreement called ‘Term Sheet’ between him and Amit Bhardwaj’s father Mahendra Bhardwaj, which indicates that his role was not just that of a mediator. The ED has also claimed that Raj Kundra remembers the exact amount received in five tranches of Bitcoin transactions even after seven years, indicating that he was allegedly involved as the beneficial owner.
What did ED allege?
The investigating agency also says that despite being given several opportunities since 2018, Raj Kundra could not provide information about the wallet addresses where 285 bitcoins were transferred. Raj says that his damaged iPhone ED alleges that this could be an attempt to destroy evidence.
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