Raj Kundra

Raj Kundra is a British businessman who operates largely in India. His business dealings included owning an Indian Premier League team and a mixed martial arts fighting league. Raj's father was a Punjabi who migrated from Ludhiana to London where he became a bus conductor before running a small business.

Raj is credited with running Dubai-based Essential General Trading LLC that deals in precious metals, mining, construction and green renewable energy products, and was involved in the financing and production of Bollywood films.

As of 2013, Raj has been associated with Groupco Developers, a real estate firm that operated in eight Indian cities, Ashwini Steel, which made mild steel from scrap, TMT Global, which claimed to predict stock prices, Essential Sports and Media which was involved with production and distribution apart from sports, and Iconic Investments, which claimed to be a private fund trading in equity markets. Other ventures included Gold Gate Trading, which described itself as a trade and investment firm based in Dubai.

PERSONAL LIFE:

Raj Kundra was born on September 9, 1975 in London, United Kingdom to Bal Krishan Kundra and Usha Rani Kundra who worked as a shop assistant. He was married to Kavita Kundra with whom he has a daughter, and after divorcing her, he married Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, who he has a son with.

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE:

In 2009, Raj and Shilpa invested in the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals and the legality of the investment came into question. In 2013, Raj was questioned by the Delhi Police in regard to the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing case, which had involved the arrest of some Rajasthan Royals players. He was banned for life from cricket-related activity in July 2015 by a panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India.

Raj had in 2018 denied that he had done anything wrong and had said he would appeal the ban but in the end he and Shilpa had to sell their stake.

OTHERS:

Raj is involved with his wife's charitable organisation called the Shilpa Shetty Foundation, and he is also the author of the book How Not to Make Money, published in 2013. He, along with Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, had launched India's first professional mixed martial arts fighting league, the Super Fight League, on January 16, 2012. After legal problems cropped up, the business ceased operating in 2013.

In 2015, Raj was a promoter of online and television broadcast platform Best Deal TV, a television home shopping channel capitalising on celebrity endorsements. His co-promoter was Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar.

Raj was involved in two ventures related to online poker and stock games, and in 2017 he entered into a partnership with the International Federation of Poker, using his Viaan Industries business as a vehicle.

SOCIAL:

Raj Kundra updates followers through Twitter - Raj Kundra/@TheRajKundra, and Instagram - Raj Kundra/@rajkundra9.