BJP leader Ram Kadam has brought further turbulence into businessman Raj Kundra’s life by alleging that he duped thousands of people, as part of a Rs 3000 crore scam, by promising to give them the distributorship of his online gaming brand ‘Game of Dot.’
Apparently, Kundra used his wife and popular Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty’s photos to brand his online gaming product to build trust and credibility among those he was dealing with.
After scamming poor people of their hard-earned money, Kundra’s firm, Viaan Industries, threatened to lodge a police complaint against those asking the company to return their money. The company even “held back the original copies of the agreements”, Kadam alleged.
ALSO READ: Tendril Gaming acquires Raj and Shilpa Shetty Kundra’s Game of Dot
The police too failed to act against Kundra, he added. Kadam in his statement said that “some people were even duped of an amount as huge as 20 lakhs on the context of giving them the distributorship of the game.” He even pegged the approximate figure of the fraud to Rs 2500-3000 crore to testify the gravity of the issue.
Online Gaming Fraud Allegations
The news of Kundra’s alleged online gaming fraud first came to light earlier this week when an Ahemdabad-based trader has accused Viaan Industries of having duped him of Rs 3 lakh. Hiren Parmar filed a complaint with the Mumbai crime branch and cyber police, stating that Kundra’s firm promised to make him a distributor of an online skill-based game called ‘Game of Dot’.
An official quoted by news agency PTI said “Viaan Industries didn’t keep its promise, following which Parmar demanded he be returned Rs 3 lakh that he had invested, but didn’t receive any response.”
He further stated, “Parmar had earlier filed a complaint with the Gujarat cyber department two years ago, but no action was taken.” The complainant also claimed that he was not the only one cheated upon; several other people were cheated by Raj Kundra’s firm too.
ALSO READ: Raj Kundra’s firm accused of fraud in online gaming deal
Parmar reported his plight to the Mumbai crime branch after Kundra’s arrest on July 19.
Meanwhile, as the adult film racket matter intensified, the Mumbai police directed the bank officials of the State Bank of India in Kanpur to seize Kundra’s two bank accounts. The bank official also added that crores of rupees have been deposited in this account.
Kundra is likely to face charges of money laundering and violation of foreign exchange rules with the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Furthermore, his police custody has been extended till Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Chandigarh-based gaming company Tendril Gaming acquired Game of Dot (G.O.D), an online cricket game by Viaan Industries of Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty Kundra. Tendril Gaming Private Limited is well-known for game development and promotion. The company builds interactive gaming applications.