Actress Jacqueline Fernandez has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the ongoing money laundering case against conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has revealed that actress Jacqueline Fernandez was well aware of conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar’s criminal history. As per a report on NDTV, the ED has said in its charge sheet that Fernandez ‘cooked up a false story’ in order to wriggle out of the investigations. This is in context to Chandrashekhar’s multi-crore money laundering case.
However, Fernandez has claimed from the very start that she never knew of Sukesh Chandrashekhar's cases.
"Jacqueline Fernandez was well aware about the criminal antecedents of Sukesh Chandrashekhar and also the fact that Leena Maria Paul is his wife in February 2021," the charge sheet says as per the NDTV report. "She consciously chose to overlook his criminal past and continued to indulge in financial transactions with him," it says.
Fernandez’s stylish Shaan was the person who informed her of Chandrashekhar’s criminal history in February 2021.
"Despite this, Jacqueline Fernandez ignored this fact and continued the relationship with Sukesh and also received, used and enjoyed the financial benefits from Sukesh, which are nothing but proceeds of crime," the agency says.
The ED has named Jacqueline Fernandez as an accused in the money laundering case. In turn, Fernandez admitted to having received five watches, 20 pieces of jewellery, 65 pairs of shoes, 47 dresses, 32 bags, 4 Hermes bags, nine paintings and one Versace crockery set as gifts from the conman, according to the charge sheet.
Furthermore, the NDTV reports said?that Chandrashekhar gifted two cars to Fernandez’s parents in April 2021, which she did not disclose during her questioning. Only when the ED confronted Fernandez with evidence that’s when she admitted that Chandrashekhar had even bought her a property at Welgana in Sri Lanka.
"Despite being fully aware of his criminal history and that he is lodged in Tihar Jail, Jacqueline Fernandez was knowingly a party or actually involved in the process (money laundering) by using or enjoying the proceeds of crime by the way of valuable gifts," the agency said as per the NDTV report.
It has been alleged that Fernandez also requested her staff to delete data on their phone related to the conman.
The ED also alleged that Fernandez tried to cover up by repeatedly saying that she wasn’t a part of the conspiracy but was rather a victim herself. "However, during investigation?she has failed to provide any substantial material to establish the victimisation by Sukesh," the charge sheet says.
She wiped her phone clean, deleting crucial evidence and this counted as tampering with evidence, says the agency.
As per the NDTV report, the charge sheet from ED said Chandrashekhar gave ? 7.12 crore to the actor - ? 1.26 crore to her sister in the US, ? 15 lakh to her brother in Australia and gifts worth ? 5.71 crores.
"The lure of money ensured that the criminal history of the person Jacqueline Fernandez was engaging with did not matter," the Enforcement Directorate said in its charge sheet.
The NDTV report further states that Fernandez had admitted to receiving from Chandrashekar four bags from Gucci, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, three shoes from Louis Vuitton and Louboutin, two outfits from Gucci, perfumes, four cats, a Mini Cooper, two diamond earrings and a multi-coloured diamond bracelet.
As per reports, Chandrashekhar was arrested by the Delhi Police in the context of allegedly extorting around ? 215 crores from Aditi Singh and Shivender Singh, who were the former promoters of pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy.
For the unversed, Fernandez is known for films like ‘Kick’, ‘Bhoot Police’ and ‘Vikrant Rona’, and many others. She has only been accused in the supplementary charge sheet. She, however, continues to claim that she is a victim of a larger criminal conspiracy and that she was cheated.