ED Registers Money Laundering Case Against 'Padman' Producer Prerna Arora

Producer Vashu Bhagnani has accused Prerna Arora of cheating him of more than Rs 20 crore.

Producer Prerna Arora.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case of money laundering of Rs 31 crore against Bollywood producer Prerna Arora, ANI reported. The case is in association with her arrest by the economic offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police in 2018 for allegedly cheating producer Vashu Bhagnani.

Arora was summoned to appear before the ED on Wednesday in Mumbai but failed to do so and her lawyer sought time on her behalf.

According to the charge sheet, “On December 8, 2017, Arora sold the distribution rights of ‘Kedarnath’ to Padma Ispat Private Limited and on December 16 to Bhagnani’s Puja Films. She concealed the information of these dealings from all three and collected a large amount of money from them with fraudulent intentions,” Hindustan Times reported.

KriArj Entertainment, Arora’s production company, was reportedly supposed to pay Bhagnani’s production Rs 20 crore by 15 April, according to a 2018 contract, but failed to do so. KriArj has produced films like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Pad Man, and Pari.

Arora was charged with the IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

The chargesheet reportedly also included a statement from a senior executive at a media company who alleged that Arora received multiple loans from the company for the films Rustom, Canada, Pari, Parmanu, and Padman.