New Delhi: Five-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1, tennis player Maria Sharapova is under investigation by the Delhi police here for cheating and criminal conspiracy after it was discovered that she is involved in a housing project, the promoter/s of which have disappeared.
Sharapova had endorsed a the project at Gurgaon in 2012 when she had visited India. She had titled the project ‘Ballet’ and prospective buyers were told by promoters Homestead Infrastructure Development that it would have a tennis club, a helipad and a club house. The website of the project quoted Sharapova as saying that her goal ‘is to make owners feel they own something special and different’.
The case has been filed against Sharapova because as a celebrity her statements have lured many buyers according to lawyer Piyush Singh who is representing one of the buyers. Since 2016 the project has been lying unattended to after the promoters had collected millions from prospective buyers.
“Any celebrity who endorses any product technically becomes an agent for that company. No one would have invested in the project if Sharapova’s name was not there,” Singh has been quoted as saying by the ‘NDTV’ website. “Hence she cannot shirk responsibility,” Singh added.
It must be added here that the former World No.1 earned almost $30 million in 2015 according to ‘Forbes’. Out of that $23 million came from endorsements.
Agencies
