Mumbai: Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra have once again come under the scanner — this time for alleged fund diversion and financial misappropriation in a ₹60 crore cheating case linked to their now-defunct home shopping venture, Best Deal TV Pvt Ltd.

According to exclusive details accessed by India Today TV, the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has uncovered evidence indicating that funds borrowed from an NBFC owned by businessman Deepak Kothari were siphoned off through a web of related companies and disguised as inflated business expenses.

EOW officials said the couple’s firm had taken the ₹60 crore loan in 2015 to expand their television commerce operations. However, preliminary investigations suggest the funds never reached the intended vendors and service providers.

Instead, a portion of the money was allegedly diverted to entities linked to the couple — including Satyug Gold, Viaan Industries, Essential Bulk Commodities Pvt Ltd, and Statement Media.

“Payments shown as broadcasting fees, celebrity endorsements, travel, and office expenses appear inconsistent with the actual services rendered,” a senior EOW official told India Today TV, adding that a third-party forensic audit has been commissioned to track the money trail.

Sources said several vendors, including a courier company and a media solutions agency engaged by Best Deal TV, were never paid, despite payment records suggesting otherwise. The EOW has now begun summoning former employees and associated vendors to record statements.

Raj Kundra was recently questioned for over five hours. During the interrogation, he maintained that the money was a legitimate loan later converted into equity.

He claimed that ₹20 crore went into broadcasting and celebrity endorsements, naming Bipasha Basu and Neha Dhupia among the brand ambassadors.

But the EOW’s internal audit found glaring gaps. Despite being a majority shareholder, Shilpa Shetty allegedly charged a ₹15 crore celebrity fee for endorsing her own company’s products — shown in the accounts as an external business expense.

Shetty, in her defense, told officials she was paid as a professional model through an ad agency, and not directly by Best Deal TV. However, the EOW suspects the agency itself was a linked entity in the diversion chain.

Investigators also flagged that no formal valuation was conducted before Best Deal TV offered equity shares to Kothari’s NBFC — a red flag in corporate governance norms. This, officials said, will form a crucial part of the forensic audit.

Raj Kundra, meanwhile, claimed that demonetisation crippled the company’s operations since it relied heavily on cash-on-delivery transactions, forcing a shutdown.

He added that promotional videos and material seized during an earlier pornography case probe by the Cyber Crime Cell contained records that could clarify expenses — a claim the EOW is now cross-verifying.

The ongoing investigation marks yet another controversy for Kundra, who has faced multiple inquiries over the past few years, ranging from crypto and porn content cases to financial irregularities.

As the forensic audit proceeds, officials say the probe will establish whether the funds were fraudulently laundered or merely mismanaged, but the preliminary findings already paint a troubling picture of glamour masking greed.