Jacqueline Fernandez on Monday appeared before Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a fresh round of questioning in a money laundering case that involved jailed conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.
The actor is being investigated in the case for a long time now. As per the latest reports, Jacqueline knew Sukesh well and by some accounts, was in a relationship with him. Although, Fernandez has maintained silence about the same.
In April, the ED had provisionally attached Rs 7.27 crore funds of the Bollywood actor under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Jacqueline was issued a fresh summons for the recording of her statement on Monday as the agency is tracking the remaining proceeds of crime in this case, officials said.
The latest reports suggest a provisional order for attaching her fixed deposits worth Rs 7.12 crore apart from Rs 15 lakh cash as the agency called these funds “proceeds of crime”.
“Sukesh Chandrasekhar had given various gifts worth Rs 5.71 crore to Jacqueline Fernandez from the proceeds of crime generated by criminal activities including extortion.” “Chandrasekhar had put Pinky Irani, his long-time associate and co-accused in this case to deliver the said gifts to her,” the ED had then said in a statement.
Apart from the gifts, Chandrasekhar also gave “funds to the tune of USD 1,72,913 (about Rs 1.3 crore as per current exchange rate) and AUD 26740 (approx. Rs 14 lakh) to the close family members of Fernandez out of the proceeds of crime through co-accused Avtar Singh Kochhar, an established and well known international hawala operator.”
According to an ETimes report, “the agency said its probe found that Chandrasekhar had “delivered cash to the tune of Rs 15 lakh to a scriptwriter on behalf of Fernandez as advance for writing a script of her web series project.” Fernandez is a Sri Lankan national and she made her debut in the Hindi film industry in 2009.
The agency’s current case is based on FIR filed by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) against the alleged conman, who was contacting people by spoofing calls to dupe them.
The numbers reflecting on their phones seemed to be from government officers, and he claimed to be a government officer offering to help people for a price. Both Sukesh and his wife, actor Leena Maria Paul, were arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2021 for their alleged role in a duping case.
Furthermore, the agency also pointed out that Sukesh Chandrasekhar had also delivered ₹15 lakhs in cash to a scriptwriter on behalf of Jacqueline as an advance for writing a script for her web series.
Shockingly, Jacqueline isn’t the only person who is being investigated or questioned in this case. Previously, actor Nora Fatehi was also questioned by the ED in connection with the same case.
Image Source: Instagram