Rs 1.48 crore fraud: Kushal Tandon, Ankita Lokhande and others duped by energy drink brand; Mumbai Police books 5 people

A celebrity management firm in Mumbai has accused the owners of an Indore-based energy drink brand of fraud, claiming they failed to pay Rs 1.48 crore for an ad campaign involving 25 celebrities.

By Shaibalina Choudhury

Updated on Mar 17, 2025 | 02:27 PM IST | 10.9K

(PC: Respective actors' Instagram)

Mumbai Police have registered a case against five people, including the owners of an Indore-based energy drink company, for allegedly cheating a celebrity management firm of Rs 1.48 crore. The accused reportedly hired the firm to arrange celebrity ad campaigns and promotions but never paid for the services.

According to the complaint filed by Roshan Bhinder, 48, the owner of Ayman Entertainment, two men, Tanish Chhajed, 26, and Manu Shrivastava, 29, approached her in July 2024. They claimed to be the owners of Sky 63 Energy Drinks and wanted to promote their brand on social media. Bhinder arranged for 25 celebrities, including actors Ankita Lokhande, Kushal Tandon, Karan Kundrra, Arjun Bijlani, Adrija Roy, and Rithvik Dhanjani, to participate in the campaign.

Initially, Shrivastava claimed to have transferred Rs 10 lakh as an advance, but the money never arrived. Despite this, Bhinder proceeded with the campaign, even organizing a promotional party at a luxury hotel in Mumbai on August 10, 2024. The event was attended by 100 celebrities, and from this group, 25 were finalized for the ad campaign.

The total payment agreed upon was Rs 1.32 crore for the celebrities and Rs 16.91 lakh as Bhinder’s commission. The campaign moved forward, with promotional videos being posted on social media. However, when it was time to settle payments, the cheques issued by the accused bounced. They later claimed that Rs 22.5 lakh had been transferred from Dubai, but no money was received.

On October 18, 2024, the accused issued two more cheques totaling Rs 80 lakh, which also bounced. Bhinder had already paid Rs 35 lakh in advance to some celebrities, resulting in heavy financial losses. The police have booked Chhajed, Shrivastava, and their associates- Faizal Idrii, Abdul, and Riitik Panchal, under fraud-related charges. Investigations are underway to track down the suspects and recover the money.