Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez accused of money laundering by ED

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez, a Sri Lankan citizen who works extensively in Bollywood, has been accused of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case is primarily against a conman called Sukesh Chandrashekar who has been accused of extorting money amounting to more than Rs. 200 crores. The 37-year-old actor has been named in a supplementary chargesheet filed by the agency at a Delhi court.

Aditi Singh and Shivender Singh, former promoters of the pharma company Ranbaxy, had earlier paid extortion money of around Rs. 215 crores to Chandrashekhar, according to the ED. Notably, it was after the arrest of Chandrashekhar by the Delhi Police that the ED started pursuing the money trail in this case.

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In the supplementary chargesheet that names the actor, the ED has said that she had accepted gifts of more than Rs. 5 crores from Chandrashekhar despite knowing that he had come across the money through illegal means. In a statement, the Ministry of Finance agency said, “Sukesh Chandrasekhar had given various gifts worth Rs. 5.71 crores to Jacqueline Fernandez from the proceeds of crime generated by criminal activities including extortion”. Further adding, “Chandrasekhar had put Pinky Irani, his long time associate and co-accused in this case to deliver the said gifts to her”.

Fernandez was earlier questioned about this case on a number of occasions by the ED, with the last interrogation taking place in June. In April, ED had attached assets worth Rs. 7 crores to her name under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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NDTV reports that a horse (worth Rs. 52 lakhs) and a Persian cat (Rs. 9 lakhs) were among the many gifts Chandrashekhar had given the Housefull 3 actor over the years. Other gifts included accessories and clothes from luxury brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel, Moreover, Chandrashekhar had also paid a scriptwriter on behalf of Fernandez to write a webseries.

Till date, eight people, including Chandrashekhar and his wife Leena Maria Paul, have been arrested in this case.