Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: In what comes as a strong message, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked actor Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra to deposit Rs 60 crore in the United States or any other foreign location.
Denying permission to travel, the High Court also refused to pause the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against them.
The couple faces a case registered with the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police based on complaint by Deepak Kothari, a Mumbai-based businessman and Director of Lotus Capital Financial Services, who has alleged that he paid Rs 60.48 crore to the couple between 2015 and 2023 for the business expansion of their now-defunct company, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd, however, they spent it on personal expenses.
A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad said it cannot permit leisure trips when the duo is accused in the cheating and fraud case.
The couple's petition has sought suspension of the LOC from October 2025 to January 2026.
Through their lawyer, the couple told the court that only one trip to Phuket was leisure, but the rest of the trips were all for professional work.
“We would consider the petition only after the entire amount of Rs 60 crore is deposited,” the court said.