In the money laundering case against conman Sukesh Chandrashekar, who is suspected of demanding extortion payments totaling a staggering 200 crore, actor Jacqueline Fernandez has been identified as a defendant.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is looking into the money trail in the extortion case, has listed the actor as one of the defendants in the supplemental chargesheet it has submitted to a Delhi court. Chandrashekar was previously detained by the Delhi Police for allegedly extorting over 215 crores from Aditi Singh and Shivendra Singh, associates of the late promoters of the pharmaceutical behemoth Ranbaxy. After learning about the Delhi Police case, the ED launched its investigation into money laundering.
The first chargesheet from the ED detailed Chandrashekar's suspected usage of the stolen funds. It claims in its supplemental chargesheet that Chandrashekar offered Fernandez presents worth over Rs 5 crore from the sum he swindled. It has named the actor as an accused, alleging that she was aware that the gifts were bought from the proceeds of the crime.
Sukesh Chandrasekhar gave Jacqueline Fernandez a number of gifts totaling 5.71 crore rupees from the profits of crime, which included extortion. Pinky Irani, a longtime friend and co-accused in this case, was sent by Chandrasekhar to deliver the gifts to the woman, the ED had then stated in a statement.
The ED had already interrogated her and attached the actor's property. In accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the bureau temporarily attached the actor's assets of Rs. 7 crores in April (PMLA).
According to the ED, these presents included a horse for 52 lakh rupees and a Persian cat worth 9 lakh rupees. The CIA has also claimed that Chandrashekar provided significant quantities of money to Ms. Fernandez.
Ms. Fernandez, a citizen of Sri Lanka, made her film debut in Hindi in 2009.
In this investigation, the ED has made a total of eight arrests. Chandrshekhar and his wife Leena Maria Paul are among them.
