Mumbai Police have issued a Lookout Circular (LOC) against Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband, businessman Raj Kundra, in connection with a Rs 60 crore cheating case. The action was taken by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) because of the couple’s frequent international travel.

The case was registered at Juhu police station on August 14. A Mumbai-based businessman, Deepak Kothari, has accused the couple of cheating him through their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt. Ltd. He alleged that between 2015 and 2023, Shilpa and Kundra diverted funds meant for business expansion and used them for personal purposes.

Kothari, who is the director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, said he was introduced to the couple by Rajesh Arya. At that time, Shetty and Kundra held nearly 88 percent of the company’s shares. According to him, the couple first asked for a loan of Rs 75 crore at 12 percent interest. Later, they convinced him to treat it as an investment instead of a loan to reduce tax liabilities. They promised him monthly returns and assured him that the principal amount would be repaid.

Based on these assurances, Kothari invested Rs 31.95 crore in April 2015 under a share subscription agreement. In September 2015, he invested another Rs 28.53 crore through a supplementary agreement. Both amounts were deposited into Best Deal TV’s HDFC Bank accounts.

In September 2016, Shilpa Shetty resigned as a director of the company. By 2017, insolvency proceedings had begun against Best Deal TV after it defaulted on another agreement.