Raj Kundra

Last updated

Raj Kundra
Photos-Shilpa-Shetty-and-Raj-Kundra-at-Bastian-in-Lower-Parel-2 (cropped).jpg
Kundra in 2020
Born
Ripu Sudan Kundra

London, England [1]
Nationality British-Indian
Occupation Businessman
Spouses
  • Kavita Kundra
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2003;div. 2006)​
  • ​
    (m. 2009)​
Children3
Website rajkundra.net

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

Contents

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

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shamita Shetty</span> Indian actress (born 1979)

Shamita Shetty is an Indian actress and interior designer. The younger sister of actress Shilpa Shetty, she made her acting with the romantic drama Mohabbatein (2000), which earned her the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Female. She went on to do films including Bewafaa (2005), Zeher (2005) and Cash (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. Sreesanth</span> Indian cricketer

Shanthakumaran Nair Sreesanth is an Indian former cricketer and film actor who played all formats of the game for his country. He is a right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler and a right-handed tail-ender batsman. In first class cricket, he played for Kerala. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) he played for the Rajasthan Royals. He became the first Kerala Ranji player to play Twenty20 cricket for India. Sreesanth was initially banned for life after spot-fixing in the 2013 IPL, however, the ban was reduced to seven years in August 2019. In 2018, he participated in the popular reality show, Bigg Boss and became the runner up. In 2020 he was selected for the Kerala cricket team and resumed his career in national cricket. In March 2022, Sreesanth announced his retirement from domestic cricket. Sreesanth was a member of the Indian team that won both the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 Cricket World Cup, where in the 2007 final, he took the winning catch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Premier League</span> Franchise T20 cricket league annually held in India

The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as the TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held annually in India. Founded by the BCCI (the Board of Control for Cricket in India) in 2007, the league features ten state or city-based franchise teams. It is the most popular cricket league in the world and its seasons usually take place between March and May. It has an exclusive window in the ICC Future Tours Programme, resulting in fewer international cricket tours occurring during the IPL seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chennai Super Kings</span> Indian Premier League cricket franchise

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian professional cricket franchise based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The team competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was one of the eight franchises incorporated when the league was established in 2008. The team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium and is owned by Chennai Super Kings Cricket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delhi Capitals</span> Franchise team of IPL

Delhi Capitals are a professional franchise cricket team based in Delhi that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by the GMR Group and the JSW Sports. The team's home ground is Arun Jaitley Stadium, located in New Delhi. The team is captained by KL Rahul and coached by Hemang Badani. The Capitals appeared in their first IPL final in 2020 against Mumbai Indians under former captain Shreyas Iyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajasthan Royals</span> Indian franchise cricket team

Rajasthan Royals are a professional franchise cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight IPL franchises, the team is owned by Manoj Badale and The Royals Sports Group. The Royals team is based at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. It plays its home matches at Sawai Mansingh Stadium and at ACA Stadium, Guwahati. The Royals are known to unearth obscure and high potential talent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lalit Modi</span> Indian businessman (born 1963)

Lalit Modi is an Indian businessman and former cricket administrator. He was the founder, first chairman and League Commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and ran the tournament for three years until 2010. He also served as the Chairman of the Champions League from 2008 till 2010 and was Vice President of the BCCI from 2005 till 2010. He has also served as the President of the Rajasthan Cricket Association from 2005 till 2009 and then again from 2014 till 2015, and as the vice president of the Punjab Cricket Association from 2004 till 2012.

The 2009 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 2 or the 2009 IPL, was the second season of the Indian Premier League, established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. The tournament was hosted by South Africa and was played between 18 April and 24 May 2009. It was the second biggest cricket tournament in the world, after the Cricket World Cup, and was forecast to have an estimated television audience of more than 200 million people in India alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shilpa Shetty</span> Indian actress and film producer (born 1975)

Shilpa Shetty Kundra is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films and television. She made her screen debut in the thriller Baazigar (1993) which gained her first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Shetty had intermittent success in the rest of the decade, such as in the action films Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) and Jaanwar (1999).

The 2012 Indian Premier League season, abbreviated as IPL 5 or the IPL 2012 or the DLF IPL 2012, was the fifth season of the Indian Premier League, initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007 with the first season played in 2008. The tournament began on 4 April and ended on 27 May 2012. Kolkata Knight Riders were the winning team, beating defending champions Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the final. This season the number of teams in the league went from ten to nine with the termination of Kochi Tuskers Kerala.

Sachiin Joshi, also spelled Sachin Joshi, is an Indian actor, producer, and entrepreneur known for his work in Telugu and Hindi cinema. His father, Jagdish Joshi, is the owner of the JMJ group of industries. Sachiin also owned the Dambulla franchise of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), the Dambulla Viikings, which was terminated by SLC in 2021 before the second season.

The 2013 Indian Premier League season was the sixth season of the Indian Premier League, established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. The tournament featured nine teams and was held from 3 April to 26 May 2013. The opening ceremony was held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 2 April 2013. This was the first season with PepsiCo as the title sponsor. The Kolkata Knight Riders were the defending champions, having won the 2012 season. A spot fixing case was revealed by Delhi Police, leading to arrest of three cricketers from Rajasthan Royals and other persons. Mumbai Indians won the tournament for the first time, defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final by 23 runs.

The 2014 Indian Premier League season was the seventh season of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. The tournament featured eight teams, one fewer than in 2013 after the withdrawal of the Pune Warriors India, and was held from 16 April 2014 to 1 June 2014. The opening ceremony was held in the UAE on 15 April 2014. Kolkata Knight Riders won the tournament, defeating Kings XI Punjab by 3 wickets with Manish Pandey declared the man of the match in the final. The average attendance for the tournament was 31,751.

Ajit Chandila is a former Indian cricketer from Haryana. He played for Rajasthan Royals until 2013 but was previously known for his performance for the Air India North Zone team.

Ankeet Chavan is a cricketer who played for Mumbai in Indian domestic cricket. He is an all-rounder who is a left-handed batsman and slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He also played for Rajasthan Royals in Indian Premier League.

The 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting case arose when the Delhi Police arrested three cricketers, Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, on the charges of alleged spot-fixing. The three represented the Rajasthan Royals in the 2013 Indian Premier League. In a separate case, Mumbai Police arrested Vindu Dara Singh, Priyank Sepany and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan for alleged betting.

Gurunath Meiyappan is a member of the AVM family and is the son-in-law of industrialist, former president of the BCCI, and former chairman of the ICC, N. Srinivasan. He was the "team principal" of the IPL cricket franchise, Chennai Super Kings and was implicated in the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing and betting case. An inquiry committee headed by former Chief Justice RM Lodha found both Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner, Raj Kundra, guilty of bringing the game of cricket into disrepute and banned them for life.

Mudgal Committee is a four-member committee, headed by former High Court judge Mukul Mudgal and comprising the then Additional Solicitor General of India L. Nageswara Rao and senior advocate and former cricket umpire Nilay Dutta to conduct an independent inquiry into the allegations of corruption against BCCI chief N. Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements, and Rajasthan Royals team owner Jaipur IPS Cricket Private Ltd, as well as with the larger mandate of investigating allegations having to do with betting and spot-fixing in 2013 Indian Premier League matches and the involvement of players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shilpa Shetty filmography</span>

Shilpa Shetty is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi films, in addition to a few Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films. Shetty made her acting debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the 1993 thriller Baazigar. Shetty's performance earned her two Filmfare Awards nominations for Lux New Face of the Year and Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently earned recognition with dual roles in the 1994 action-comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari. After initial success, Shetty's films fared poorly at the box office for the next five years. Films Shetty starred in including action drama Aag, romantic drama Aao Pyaar Karen, comedy Haathkadi and Chhote Sarkar proved to be financially unsuccessful.

The 2019 Indian Premier League season was the twelfth season of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007. At one point other countries were considered to host the tournament, due to the Indian general elections but eventually the tournament was played entirely in India with the season commencing on 23 March.

References

  1. 1 2 3 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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.