Actor Gehana Vasisth faced extensive questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday, for approximately seven hours, regarding her involvement in the alleged production and distribution of pornographic content through mobile apps. The ED is conducting a money-laundering probe stemming from a February 2021 Mumbai police case. This investigation follows raids at a bungalow in Madh Island, where intimate videos were being filmed and streamed through illegal apps like Hotshots. Vasisth was previously arrested by the Mumbai police on February 6, 2021, based on cyber records, which suggested her connection to the production of such videos.
The investigation has expanded, with the ED examining records from multiple locations across Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, freezing bank accounts and seizing digital devices to trace the flow of proceeds. They are scrutinizing potential international connections to identify the beneficiaries of the illegal activities.
During her questioning, Vasisth clarified that she had acted in, directed, and produced erotic films for Hotshots, but denied the allegations of being involved in pornography. She emphasized that the films were of an erotic genre, not pornographic, and stated that she was paid ₹3 lakh per film, receiving a total of ₹33 lakh for the 11 films she worked on. Vasisth confirmed that payments were made to her by cheque from UK-based Kenrin Pvt Ltd, the firm behind Hotshots. Despite her involvement with the platform, she firmly denied any direct dealings with businessman Raj Kundra, the husband of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.
Vasisth explained that she met Kundra only once in January 2021, during the launch of two other apps associated with him. She noted that her interactions with Umesh Kamat, a key figure in the case, had led her to places that seemed linked to Kundra, but she did not have definitive proof of his involvement.
Raj Kundra,Shilpa Shetty’s husband, himself remains under intense scrutiny. The ED is likely to summon him again for questioning after he failed to appear in previous sessions. The agency’s probe is connected to the alleged role Kundra played in the management of Hotshots, through a company called Armsprime Media Pvt Ltd, which was reportedly linked to Kundra before being sold to Kenrin Pvt Ltd, owned by his relative. The police allege that Kundra made ₹1.17 crore from Hotshots’ nearly 20 lakh subscribers between August and December 2020.
This case is not Kundra’s first brush with the ED. Earlier this year, the ED provisionally attached his assets worth ₹97.79 crore in connection with a bitcoin-based Ponzi scheme. He was also questioned in 2019 regarding transactions involving the assets of late gangster Iqbal Mirchi.
As the investigation into the alleged pornography racket continues, the ED is likely to intensify its probe to uncover the financial networks and individuals benefiting from these illegal activities.
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