Pornography case: ED raids Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra’s properties, offices

The Enforcement Directorate, on Friday morning conducted raids at properties connected to Raj Kundra, husband of actress Shilpa Shetty, and several others, as part of a money laundering investigation.

The probe centers around the production and distribution of pornographic content via mobile applications, reported PTI.

Raj Kundra's legal battles are not new. In June 2021, Shilpa Shetty's husband, was arrested on charges of allegedly producing pornographic films. He was granted bail in September 2021, after spending two months in jail. According to Mumbai police, Kundra was the primary conspirator in the case.

When the pornography case came to light

The current case in question dates back to February 2021, when the Mumbai police uncovered the network involved in the pornography racket. It led to five arrests, and several other arrests followed over time.

The Mumbai police resumed its probe in the case in June following multiple setbacks. That is when the involvement of HotShots, an app owned by Raj Kundra's company came into light. A search operation was conducted subsequently, and the officials said adult content was found on servers seized.

The app allegedly attracted aspiring actors under the guise of web series auditions. However, the actors were reportedly pressured into filming semi-nude or nude scenes against their will, stated multiple reports.

Police also claimed that Kundra's phone contained WhatsApp chats had discussions pertaining to the sale of 119 adult films for 1.2 million dollars.

In addition to Kundra and officials from Raj Kundra Films, actors Poonam Pandey, Sherlyn Chopra, and Umesh Kamat were also named as accused in the case.

Reportedly, during the bail plea hearing, Kundra's counsel argued that neither he nor his IT head, Ryan Thorpe—who was also arrested—were responsible for deciding which content was to be uploaded to the platform. However, the Mumbai Police stated that they had sufficient evidence against Kundra.