Sensationalism won’t cloud truth: Raj Kundra on ED raids in porn racket case

Businessman Raj Kundra broke his silence on the ED raids on his offices and residences.

In a money laundering probe linked to the alleged distribution of pornographic and adult movies against him, saying that no amount of sensationalism would cloud the truth. He also slammed media reports that linked his wife and actor Shilpa Shetty to the case, calling it unacceptable.

“While the media seems to have a flair for drama, let’s set the record straight. I am fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation that has been unfolding for the past four years. As for the claims of ‘associates’, ‘pornography’ and ‘money laundering’, let’s just say that no amount of sensationalism will cloud the truth. In the end, justice will prevail,” he said in a statement posted on his Instagram status.

“It’s unacceptable to repeatedly drag my wife’s name into unrelated matters. Please respect the boundaries,” he said.

Earlier, Shetty’s lawyer Prashant Patil told PTI that the action was not against the actor and Kudra was “cooperating in the investigation for the truth to come out”. This money laundering case of May 2022 stems from at least two Mumbai police FIRs and charge sheets filed against Kundra and others.

Kundra was arrested in June 2021 on charges of allegedly producing pornographic films. He was granted bail in September 2021, after spending two months in jail. Mumbai Police officials have alleged that Kundra was the primary conspirator in the case.

WHAT IS THE PORN RACKET CASE?
The businessman told a local Mumbai court in 2021 that there was not even an iota of evidence with the prosecution (Mumbai Police) that would connect the app ‘Hotshots’, owned by Kundra’s company, used in the alleged porn films racket, with an offence under law.

According to the ED, the ‘Hotshots’ app was being used by accused persons for uploading and streaming obscene content.

Kundra had claimed there was no evidence of him being “actively” involved in the creation of alleged porn content. He had said he was falsely implicated and was not even named in the FIR and was dragged by the respondent (police) in the case.

Police had filed FIRs on the basis of complaints received from two women, while another woman had submitted a complaint at the Lonavla police station, around 120 km from Mumbai.

During the investigation, it came to light that some small-time artistes were lured by giving them breaks in some web series or short stories, police had said.

These actors were called for auditions and were asked to give ‘bold’ scenes, which later turned out to be semi-nude or nude scenes, which were against the wishes of the actors, the official had said.

During the police investigation, it also came to light that there are many ‘porn-like apps’ (applications) operating in cyberspace.

The police had told the court that its probe found that Kundra set up Armsprime Media Pvt Ltd, which, through London-based Kenrin Pvt Ltd, bought the Hotshots app to upload “objectionable videos” on social media.

Kundra’s phone contained WhatsApp chats regarding Kenrin and its financial transactions. These conversations also revealed that he had discussed selling 119 adult films to a person for USD 1.2 million, police had said.