Raj Kundra

Raj Kundra
Kundra in 2020
Born
Ripu Sudan Kundra

London, England[1]
NationalityBritish-Indian
OccupationBusinessman
Spouses
  • Kavita Kundra
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2003; div. 2006)​
  • ​
    (m. 2009)​
Children3
Websiterajkundra.net

Raj Kundra is a British-Indian businessman and part time actor, who was ranked as the 198th richest British Asian by Success.[2]

Kundra has made investments across a range of interests, including cricket and mixed martial arts. He has been married to Shilpa Shetty, an Indian actress, since 2009.

Early life

Raj Kundra was born in London, England to Indian immigrants.[1] Kundra's parents were Punjabi Hindus from Raipur, Mansa. Kundra grew up in a middle-class family. His father, Bal Krishan Kundra worked as a bus conductor in London before running a small business. His mother, Usha Rani Kundra worked as a shop assistant.[3]

At the age of 18, Kundra relocated to Dubai and later Nepal where he started a business selling pashmina shawls to fashion retailers in Britain and made his first couple of millions.[4] In 2007, he moved to Dubai and set up Essential General Trading LLC, a company dealing in precious metals, construction, mining and renewable energy projects. He was also at that time involved in the financing and production of Bollywood films.[5]

Kundra has been married twice, first to Kavita Kundra, with whom he has a daughter.[6] The couple later divorced. On 22 November 2009 Kundra married Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.[7] Kundra and Shetty have a son, born on 21 May 2012,[8] and a daughter, born through surrogacy on 15 February 2020.[9]

Kundra is also involved with his wife's charitable organisation, the Shilpa Shetty Foundation.[1] His book titled, How Not to Make Money was published in 2013.[10]

His businesses included Satyug Gold, Super Fight League, and more recently, Bastian Hospitality - a restaurant chain in Mumbai.[11]

In 2015, Kundra was among the promoters of online and television broadcast platform Best Deal TV, an Indian television home shopping channel capitalising on celebrity endorsements. His co-promoter was Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar.[12]

Under the Indian government's Startup India initiative, Kundra is set to launch India's first live streaming social media app, Jaldi Live Stream App which will allow professional as well as amateur streamers to live stream their content.[13]

Indian Premier League

Main article: Rajasthan Royals

In 2009, Kundra and Shetty invested in the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals using an offshore company based in Mauritius.[14][15] The legality of the investment was questioned by departments of the Government of India.[16]

In June 2013, Kundra was questioned by Delhi Police with regard to the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing case,[17] which had involved the arrest of some Rajasthan Royals players, further Delhi police have given a clean chit to Kundra in reply on right to information (RTI).[18] In July 2015 a panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India imposed a life ban from the cricket-related activity on him. Further, Kundra denied the involvement and appeal to the Supreme Court of India.[19][20]

Umesh Goenka, a business partner of Raj Kundra claimed in a court that he was forced to implicate Kundra in betting by Delhi Police and to save himself from physical torture and from being charged under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.[21][22]

Super Fight League

Kundra and Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt launched India's first professional mixed martial arts fighting league, the Super Fight League, on 16 January 2012.[23]

Awards and honours

Kundra was awarded the Champions of Change Award in 2019, for his involvement with Swachh Bharat Mission. The award was conferred by former President of India Pranab Mukherjee at Vigyan Bhavan New Delhi on 20 January 2020.[24][25]

Controversy

Kundra was arrested in July 2021 on charges of producing pornographic content. He is still an owner of Hot shots and was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act. People reported him to be in jail but Central Government did not take strong actions against him. Later on, he was granted bail in September 2021 by a metropolitan magistrate's court.[26]

On 3 November 2023, a film on the controversy titled UT 69 was released. Kundra himself played the lead role and presented experiences of his days in prison.[27]

The Enforcement Directorate attached his properties worth 97 crores in Bitcoin investment fraud case which was alleged to be a ponzi scheme.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b c Shah, Gouri (11 February 2009). "It's not about getting the best players, but making the weakest stronger" (PDF). Mint. Delhi. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Raj Kundra: Rise from a Pashmina trader to an international entrepreneur". Economic Times. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  3. ^ "Raj Kundra, from bus conductor's son to biz tycoon". Deccan Chronicle. 7 June 2013. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Raj Kundra, a college drop-out who first made it big selling pashmina shawls". Times of India. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Rajasthan Royals agrees to take strategic investment from Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty". London: Blenheim Chalcot. 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Shilpa Wrecked My Marriage". Manchester Evening News. 13 January 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Thank god, I'll marry only once: Shilpa". The Times of India. 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Shilpa Shetty gives birth to a baby boy". Rediff. 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  9. ^ "Shilpa Shetty, husband welcome baby girl born through surrogacy". The Week. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  10. ^ "Raj Kundra's book now a British crime-thriller". The Times of India. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Raj Kundra, a college drop-out who first made it big selling pashmina shawls". The Times Of India. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  12. ^ Malvania, Urvi (20 May 2015). "Home shopping channel Best Deal TV to raise Rs 100 cr". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  13. ^ Laghate, Gaurav (22 September 2020). "Raj Kundra to launch 'Made in India' live streaming platform". Economic Times. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Shilpa Shetty, partner buy 12% in Rajasthan Royals". Business Standard India. Business Standard. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  15. ^ Thakurta, Paranjoy Guha (8 December 2017). "Thin Dividing Line: Ties between IPL team owners and offshore dealings". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  16. ^ "Eye on RR money". Hindustan Times. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  17. ^ "Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra questioned by Delhi Police". Rediff. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  18. ^ "IPL spot-fixing scandal: Meiyappan, Kundra get clean chit; Srinivasan may return as BCCI chief". Economic Times. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  19. ^ "Raj Kundra files petition in Supreme Court following clearance on IPL betting scandal from Delhi Police". CricketCountry. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  20. ^ "IPL spot-fixing: Banished Raj Kundra files petition in SC, hopes to overturn ban". Deccan Chronocale. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Delhi police forced me to implicate Kundra: Partner". Ahamedabad Mirror. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  22. ^ "IPL Spot Fixing Umesh Goenka Delhi Police Bashing Confession". India Today. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  23. ^ Olivera, Roshni. "Ready for the Super Fight League?". The Times of India. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  24. ^ "'Sparsh Ganga initiative' wins Champions of Change Award". The New Indian Express. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  25. ^ "जानें क्यों शिल्पा और राज को मिला 'चैंपियन ऑफ चेंज अवॉर्ड', 'स्वच्छ भारत अभियान' से है कनेक्शन". Amar Ujala.
  26. ^ "One year after being released from jail, Raj Kundra posts: 'If you don't know the whole story, shut up'". The Indian Express. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  27. ^ "UT69 trailer: Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra plays himself, gives glimpse of his life inside jail. Watch". Hindustan Times. 18 October 2023.
  28. ^ "ED attaches Raj Kundra's properties worth Rs 97.79 crore in Bitcoin investment fraud case". The Indian Express. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.