A real estate agent who swindled Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra of Rs 1 crore, and who used the money to take his family for a tour of the United States, has been arrested after being on the run for the last two years.

The accused, Malad-based broker Rajesh Thakkar, was arrested by the Kandivali police while attending a relative's wedding at Andheri on Monday.

According to the police,Ketan Shah,the managing director of Ravi Builders, had entered a deal with the Kundras to buy their apartment in Pinnacle Heights, Juhu, in August 2011.

The deal was worth Rs 9.5 crore and the Kundras and Shah entered the agreement through Thakkar. Shah paid the Kundras Rs 1 crore as the first installment, and promised the rest within three months.

However, days later, Shah changed his mind about buying the flat as the 2,000 sq ft apartment, located opposite Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow in Juhu, would have eventually cost him around Rs 40,000 per sq ft - over 50 per cent more than the prevailing market rate of Rs 25,000 per sq ft.

Deciding to call off the deal, Shah asked Thakkar to collect the cash from the actress. The Kundras gave the money to Thakkar, but instead of returning the amount to Shah, Thakkar suddenly vanished with his entire family.

Unaware of the development, Shah waited a few days and then approached Shilpa, asking for his money back. On learning that she had already returned the money to Thakkar, and realising they had been duped, Shah lodged a complaint with the police in Kandivali where he lived.

On Monday, Thakkar was finally arrested from a wedding hall in Andheri's Lokhandwala Complex. He told the police that he returned to India after he ran out of cash and has been living in Gujarat for the last six months.

"Thakkar thought that the matter had died down and it was safe for him to return to the city," a police officer said. "He had promised his family a tour to US and had used the entire sum for the same."

When Mirror contacted Raj Kundra, he said, "I heard that Thakkar has been arrested. He took the money belonging to the buyer who was interested in purchasing my flat. I am happy that the criminal has been caught."

Additional CP (North Region) Sunil Paraskar confirmed that the estate agent has finally been nabbed. Paraskar said, "Thakkar has been arrested and has been remanded in police custody till February 3. Investigations are on."