The Enforcement Directorate (ED), one of the agencies probing Sushant Singh Rajput's death, has found a suspicious 'missing' payment worth Rs 17 crore allegedly made to the late actor by producer Dinesh Vijan, as per a report by India Today. A source told the publication that the payment was for Raabta, which released in 2017. The source adds that the alleged payment was for a shoot that took place in Hungary.
However, Vijan's firm Maddock Films has refuted the claims in a statement. "Maddock Films has not made any payment to Sushant in Hungary. Maddock has also not received Rs17 crore whether as actor fee, or any rebate from Hungary".
The statement added "We have made the full payment to Sushant for Raabta as per the agreement signed by him with us, and this payment was received by him in India. We have submitted relevant documents for the proof of such payment to the department".
Maddock also said that all the financial transactions for the shoot in Hungary were handled by T-series.
The firm, in its statement, said that Dinesh Vijan is currently in Dubai recovering from COVID-19 and he will be lending his full support to the authorities. "India Today has always stood by the truth and we hope that sharing the correct facts with you will lead to correct reporting as a responsible publication. We are not sure if we can speak about the matter at this moment, but to avoid any controversy we want to clarify we are fully cooperating with the agency and have furnished all details required and it is our sincere request to all to avoid spreading incorrect information.
"You may note that Mr. Vijan was to travel back to India and had to therefore as per norms undergo a COVID-19 test prior to flying. He's detected positive for COVID-19 which is why he could not travel back and is presently recuperating. He will be travelling back to India as soon as he recovers, he and Maddock films have been and will fully co-operate with the authorities, as required".
Dinesh Vijan was questioned last month by the agency and reportedly asked to submit documents regarding payments made to Sushant Singh Rajput for the movie. The India Today report states that Vijan had apparently failed to submit details of the budget for the overseas shoot that was carried out for Raabta in Hungary.
As per the report by India Today, the ED had found documents pertaining to the budget and expenditure Raabta submitted to authorities at Budapest during a search conducted at Vijan's house on 14 October. The budget in the document was around Rs 50 crore. The papers also reportedly claimed that of the total amount of Rs 50 crore, Rs 17 crore was paid to Sushant.
The report also states that Dinesh Vijan had failed to clarify as to how the payment was made to Sushant and where the money went.
(With inputs from India Today)
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