Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez has questioned the role of the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case against conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar in which she also has been named as an accused. In an appeal filed by the actress’ lawyer Prashant Patil, she has asked why Nora Fatehi has been made a witness and Jacqueline Fernandez is an accused in the same case.
It is notable that both Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi received expensive gifts from Sukesh Chandrasekhar. While Jacqueline was made an accused in the case by ED last week, Nora was made a witness in the Rs 200 crore money laundering case in December last year. Now, Jacqueline Fernandez has questioned this accusing ED of discrimination against her.
According to reports, Jacqueline Fernandez argued that she is not the only one to accept gifts from Sukesh Chandrasekhar, and asked why only she has been made accused. She pleaded, “I am a woman cheated under the influence of Sukesh Chandrasekhar’s gifts and ‘political power’. The loss I have suffered cannot be measured in money.”
200 cr money laundering case: Nora Fatehi made witness whereas she’s is an accused, Jacqueline alleges ED probe differentiating
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Accusing the ED of acting out of malice, Jacqueline Fernandez has said, “Nora Fatehi and some other celebs were also duped by Sukesh Chandrashekhar by giving gifts, but they were made witnesses and I was made an accused. This clearly shows that I am being acted upon in the wrong spirit. All this money that the ED has seized is earned by my hard work. My FD has no connection with Chandrashekhar and was created even before the thug existed.”
It is notable that, after attaching Jacqueline Fernandez’s fixed of Rs 7.2 crore, the ED named Jacqueline as an accused in its charge sheet. In response, the actress filed an appeal on August 22, claiming to be a victim. In her response, the counsel of the actress said, “She is a victim of the modus operandi adopted by the main accused, Mr. Sukesh Chandrasekhar. Sukesh Chandrasekhar has cheated Jacqueline. If you look at the records, it clearly tells about this deception. Unfortunately, the ED’s attitude seems to be quite mechanical and motivated by biases, so no one is looking at the fact that what the respondent (Jacqueline) has lost cannot be counted with money.”
It is notable that the first charge sheet filed by the ED detailed how Chandrashekar utilized the allegedly swindled money. Its supplemental charge sheet says that Chandrashekar offered Fernandez gifts worth over Rs 5 crores from the money he swindled. It has identified the actress as an accused, stating that she was aware that the gifts were purchased with illicit money.
The 200 crores extortion and money-laundering case
While jailed as an undertrial, Sukesh Chandrasekhar allegedly extorted 200 crores from the wife of the promoter of Religare enterprises Shivinder Mohan Singh. Pretending to be a senior government official, Sukesh conned Shivinder Singh’s wife Aditi Singh assuring her that he can secure Shivinder’s bail. Sukesh and his wife, actress Leena Maria Paul used hawala routes and shell companies to launder the proceeds of their scam.
Sukesh Chandrasekhar and his wife were then arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) over an alleged extortion racket being run from jail. Sukesh was allegedly bribing prison authorities to keep his cons running from the prison. Several Bollywood personalities like Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi allegedly kept coming to the prison to meet him during his stay.
The ED had recorded Jacqueline’s statements in August and October last year. In the statement, she had admitted to taking gifts and loans from Sukesh during the course of the questioning. Sukesh Chandrasekhar, in his statement to ED last year, had claimed that he had gifted jewellery worth Rs 7 crore to Jacqueline Fernandez. She was also given the BMW X5 car. Sukesh Chandrashekhar had also reportedly gifted a Maserati car to Jacqueline’s parents and a Porsche car from Bahrain to her mother.
