Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra was granted bail on Friday in connection with a money laundering case based on a Rs 150 crore Bitcoin 'Ponzi' scam.
The British-Indian businessman, who is one of 18 accused in the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) probe into the scam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), appeared before a special court in Mumbai after it took cognisance of a chargesheet filed last month, and put forth a bail plea.
#WATCH | Mumbai | After being granted bail in Bitcoin scam case, businessman Raj Kundra says," Satyamev Jayate..." pic.twitter.com/JvXskt71Xq
— ANI (@ANI) February 20, 2026
The court granted him bail with two conditions—that he furnish a surety of Rs 1 lakh, and that he had to now seek prior permission before travelling abroad.
Raj Kundra's defence
Kundra’s lawyer, Prashant Patil, has told the court that since he had not been taken into custody during the probe, his custodial interrogation was no longer required.
He claimed that Kundra had cooperated with the investigators, and that the businessman had gone to the ED office six times since 2021, in connection with the probe. He further claimed that all documents related to the case were in the ED’s custody.
What were the allegations?
Back in January, the court had observed from the ED chargesheet that the statements of witnesses and other evidence "prima-facie" showed that Kundra and Dubai-based businessman Rajesh Satija had been involved in an offence punishable under the PMLA.
The ED has alleged that Kundra had received 285 Bitcoins (BTC) from the alleged mastermind behind the Gain Bitcoin Ponzi scam, Amit Bhardwaj, for setting up a Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine.
As the deal did not materialise, Kundra was still in possession of the BTC 285, which is currently valued at more than Rs 150 crore, the ED has claimed, as per a PTI report.
In the chargesheet, Kundra claimed to have acted only as a mediator, but has not backed it up with "any underlying documentary evidence to prove the same".
The report also noted that an agreement titled 'Term Sheet' had also been signed between him and Amit's father Mahendra Bhardwaj. The ED alleged in the chargesheet that the existence of this agreement meant Kundra's claim of being only a mediator was not tenable.
The fact that Kundra remembers the exact number of Bitcoins received in five specific tranches seven years after the transaction "solidifies the fact that he was indeed the recipient of Bitcoins as a beneficial owner and not acted merely as a mediator", the ED said, in its defence.
Finally, the central probe agency claimed that despite having multiple opportunities since 2018, Kundra failed to provide the wallet addresses where the BTC 285 was transferred. Kundra's reason for the missing information—damage to his iPhone X—was an attempt to destroy evidence, the ED said.
