Maria Sharapova is being investigated by police in India in a cheating and criminal conspiracy case involving a real estate company who used the tennis star to endorse a luxury housing project that never took off.
Real estate firm Homestead Infrastructure is accused of taking tens of millions of rupees (millions of dollars) from home buyers for a project named "Ballet by Maria Sharapova," a luxury apartment complex with its own helipad, tennis academy and other amenities. The five-time Grand Slam champion travelled to India in 2013 to launch the project at a glitzy ceremony. Police began the investigation on November 16.
Piyush Singh, a lawyer representing one of the home buyers, said Sharapova's celebrity was the reason most people put their money into the project.
Sharapova is accused number four in the 156 (3) CRPC application which was filed before the Rohini Court by a homebuyer, who invested in a luxury housing project in Gurugram.
It should be noted that Sharapova had also supported the project in the eyes of the general public
Last year, homebuyers of Amrapali had trolled former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Twitter for the delay in the completion of the housing project while also forcing the wicketkeeper-batsman to quit as the brand ambassador of the Amrapali group.
(With Agency reports)
