india

Updated: Oct 30, 2019 12:40 IST

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday began questioning businessman and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty’s husband Raj Kundra in its ongoing probe against real estate dealings involving Dawood Ibrahim aide, Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi who died in 2013.

Kundra, who was summoned by the federal investigating agency last week, reached ED’s south Mumbai’s Ballard Pier office early on Wednesday. Kundra will be questioned over his dealings with city-based businessman Ranjeet Bindra.

Bindra has been accused of brokering real estate deals between Mirchi and M/s Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Limited, the firm at the centre of controversy which is suspected to have facilitated routing Rs 2,186 crore to Mirchi in Dubai.

Bindra was arrested on October 11 and is in judicial custody.

An unsecured loan of Rs 3.46 crore given by RKW developers private limited in 2011 to Essential Hospitality in which Shetty and Kundra were directors is also under scanner. Bindra was a director of RKW Developers.

Kundra’s office hasn’t issued a statement on his questioning so far. But the businessman has denied the allegations in the past, insisting that he sold a plot near the airport to RKW developers in 2011 and had nothing to do with loans that may have been taken later.

The ED has been probing three properties bought by Iqbal Mirchi in 1986 from Mohammad Yusuf Trust. According to ED, Ranjeet Bindra negotiated with Mirchi on behalf of Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd, which secured a Rs 2,186 crore loan to develop the properties.