Shilpa Shetty's lawyer denies claims of an income tax raid at her place in Mumbai: ‘Routine verification’

AFter reports began doing the rounds that income assess officials had conducted a look at doer Shilpa Shetty’s bombay place in connection with a ₹60 crore fraud probe, the actor’s legal team has come forward to dismiss the claims.Shilpa Shetty's advocate deniesOn Thursday, Shilpa Shetty's advocate Prashant Patil issued a statement to refute buzz around an income tax raid at her home in Mumbai, claiming it was merely a “routine verification” conducted by authorities.“On behalf of my client Mrs Shilpa Shetty Kundra I can confirm that there is no Income Tax “ Raid “ of whatsoever nature against my client. There is a routine verification by the income tax officials pertaining to follow up with my client Mrs Shilpa Shetty Kundra,” Prashant said in the statement.He added, “Whomsoever has mischievously claimed in public domain that these developments have anything to do with the alleged Economic Offence Wing case shall face legal consequences before the appropriate court of law. At the cost of repetition, my client Mrs Shilpa Shetty Kundra states that there is no income tax “ RAID “ at her place.”However, her lawyer firmly maintained that no searches were conducted and described the visit as a “routine verification.”The statement came after several reports suggested that Income‑Tax searches were underway on entities owned or operated by Shilpa Shetty and her husband, Raj Kundra, across multiple cities, including Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. Earlier on Thursday, sources claimed that income tax officials had searched Shilpa’s residence in connection with a case linked to her restaurant brand, Bastian.The developments come in the wake of action by the Bengaluru police, who recently booked two pubs, including Bastian Garden City, co-owned by Shilpa Shetty, for allegedly operating beyond permitted hours. Bastian Pub was founded by Bastian Hospitality, owned by businessman Ranjit Bindra, with Shilpa acquiring a 50 per cent stake in the venture in 2019.What do we know about the caseRaj Kundra and his actor-wife Shilpa Shetty are facing Mumbai police probe in a ₹60-crore criminal breach of trust case. Recently, they were also charged with cheating, officials said on Wednesday. Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), probing the case, has invoked a cheating charge against the high-profile couple in addition to criminal breach of trust.According to an official, earlier the case was registered under section 406 of the IPC (punishment for criminal breach of trust) against the celebrity couple, and after investigation, section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) has been added. They were booked under the IPC as the case was filed before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) came into force on July 1, 2024.The case was registered on a complaint filed by a 60-year-old businessman, Deepak Kothari, a resident of Mumbai's Juhu, alleging he was duped of ₹60.4 crore in a loan-cum-investment deal linked to the now-defunct company Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd (where Raj and Shilpa were directors). The EOW has already recorded statements of Raj and Shilpa in connection with the case.Meanwhile, Raj, on his verified X handle, denied allegations against him and his wife, and dubbed them baseless. "We categorically deny the baseless and motivated allegations being circulated. The issues sought to be raised are being given a criminal colour without any lawful basis," he said in a post."A quashing petition has already been filed before the Hon'ble High Court and is pending adjudication. Having fully cooperated with the investigation, we are sanguine that justice will prevail and have complete faith in law enforcement authorities and the Indian judiciary. We respectfully urge the media to exercise restraint as the matter is sub-judice." Raj said further.