Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's Woman Aide Arrested, Handled His Money

A woman associate of conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar has been arrested by the country's financial crime fighting agency.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the woman, identified as Pooja, was arrested in Delhi last night.

She was a manager in one of the fake firms floated by Chandrashekhar and his actor wife Leena Paul, they said.

It was through this company that the con artist gifted a BMW luxury car to actor Nora Fatehi, officers said.

Pooja was involved in handling finances for Chandrashekhar and had a key role in bribing the staff at Delhi's Tihar Jail, they said.

Recently, Chandrashekhar had delivered a message to Pooja through a nursing staffer in Tihar, following which action was taken against the employee and the conman was placed under 24-hour surveillance, sources said.

Prison employees attending Chandrashekhar have been asked to wear body cams, they added.

Chandrashekhar has been accused of one of the country's biggest and most elaborate con jobs, duping high-profile individuals and Bollywood actors.

The ED has accused him of money laundering, extortion, and impersonation of public officials including those holding constitutional posts - many of them while in prison via highly sophisticated tactics.

The agency told a court last month that he has repeatedly committed offences including money laundering during his incarceration in jail by subverting the legal system and prison rules with the help of his knowledge of technology and his abilities to con people.

"Sukesh Chandrashekhar has created a web through his devious mechanism. He is a master conman and with technology at his disposal, he could execute to perfection his plan", the agency said.

The ED said that it has been found that Chandrashekhar and wife Leena Paul were running an organised crime syndicate with the aid and association of other associates, added to the syndicate from time to time.

"That being inside the jail, he was threatening people to do what he wished or face consequences. The proceeds of crime were used to purchase cars, houses in Chennai, various luxury items, clothes, etc., and were utilized to open a salon for his wife, to give expensive gifts to celebrities, and to jail authorities to manage facilities in jail", it said.

The probe agency named several TV and Bollywood personalities with whom the 'conman' has contacts and used to give them expensive gifts.