Sukesh Chandrasekhar case: ED attaches Jacqueline Fernandez's assets worth Rs 7.27 cr

Pic Courtesy: Instagram

New Delhi: There seems to be more trouble brewing for actress Jacqueline Fernandez in the Sukesh Chandrasekhar case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached Rs 7.27 cr worth assets of the actress in the money-laundering probe against her. 

The federal agency has issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching fixed deposits worth Rs 7.12 crore and Rs 15 lakh cash of the 36-year-old actor as it called these funds as "proceeds of crime", reports PTI.

"Sukesh Chandrashekhar had given various gifts worth Rs 5.71 crore to Jacqueline Fernandez from the proceeds of crime generated by criminal activities including extortion. Chandrashekhar had put Pinky Irani, his long time associate and co-accused in this case to deliver the said gifts to her," the ED said in a statement.

In addition to these gifts, it said, Chandrashekhar 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."

The agency said its probe found that Chandrashekhar had "delivered cash to the tune of Rs 15 lakh to a script writer on behalf of Fernandez as advance for writing a script of her webseries project."
"This cash amount has also been attached," it said.

Investigation with regards to tracing the remaining proceeds of crime is in progress, the ED added.

Some gifts and fixed deposits are understood to have been attached by the federal probe agency after a provisional order was issued by it under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as per PTI.

The 36-year-old actor is a Sri Lankan national and she has been questioned in this case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) a number of times.

It is alleged that Chandrashekhar to purchase gifts for Fernandez used illegal money, extorted by cheating high-profile people including former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife Aditi Singh.

The actor told the ED, in her statement recorded in August and October last year, that she "received" gifts like three designer bags from Gucci, Chanel, two Gucci outfits for gym wear, a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes, two pairs of diamond earrings and a bracelet of multi-coloured stones and two Hermes bracelets from Chandrashekhar. She told the federal anti-money laundering agency that she returned a Mini Cooper car that she had similarly received.

The agency found in its probe that Chandrashekhar was in "regular contact" with Fernandez since February till he got arrested on August 7 last year (by the Delhi Police). He was later arrested by the ED too. 

In December last year, the ED filed a charge sheet under the PMLA Act naming a few Bollywood actors, including Jacqueline as witnesses in the conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar's money laundering case. The court had taken cognisance of the charge sheet soon after it was filed and had asked the agency to supply the charge sheet copy to all the accused.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jacqueline Fernandez (@jacquelinef143)

Sometime back, Jacqueline and conman Sukesh's cosy pictures had surfaced on the internet following which the actress issued a statement requesting media for privacy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jacqueline Fernandez (@jacquelinef143)

The actress clearly stated that it intruded her privacy and personal space. Jacqueline also stated in her Instagram note about going through a 'rough patch'. 

On the work front, Jacqueline Fernandez was last seen in the horror-comedy, 'Bhoot Police' alongside Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor, and Yami Gautam. 

Her upcoming projects include 'Attack', Kannada action-thriller 'Vikrant Rona', 'Bachchan Panday', 'Cirkus' and 'Ram Setu'. 

(With PTI inputs)