Jacqueline Fernandez Knew Of Conman's Cases, Enjoyed Gifts: Probe Agency

Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez was aware of conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's criminal history and "cooked up a false story" to wriggle out of investigations in a multi-crore money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate has said in its chargesheet.

Jacqueline Fernandez's claim that she never knew of Sukesh Chandrashekhar's cases is false, the Enforcement Directorate says in the chargesheet that has been accessed by NDTV.

"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 chargesheet says.

"She consciously chose to overlook his criminal past and continued to indulge in financial transactions with him," it says.

It was her hair stylist Shaan who informed her about the identity and criminal history of Sukesh Chandrashekhar 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 Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating the money trail in a Rs 200 crore extortion case against the conman, named Jacqueline Fernandez as an accused earlier this month.

Jacqueline Fernandez admitted to receiving 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 chargesheet.

The agency says Sukesh Chandrashekhar gifted two cars to the parents of Jacqueline Fernandez in April 2021, which she did not disclose during her questioning. Only after being confronted with evidence did she admit that Sukesh had 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 Fernendez 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 says. She allegedly also requested her staff to delete data on their phone related to the conman.

The Enforcement Directorate alleges that Jacqueline Fernandez tried to cover up by constantly stating that she had in fact been a victim of Sukesh. "However, during investigation she has failed to provide any substantial material to establish the victimisation by Sukesh," the chargesheet says.

She wiped her phone clean, deleting crucial evidence and this counted as tampering with evidence, says the agency.
The chargesheet says Chandrashekhar gave Rs 7.12 crore to the actor - Rs 1.26 crore to her sister in the US, Rs 15 lakh to her brother in Australia and gifts worth Rs 5.71 crore.

"The lure of money ensured that the criminal history of the person Jacqueline Fernandez was engaging with did not matter," the Enforcement Directorate says in its chargesheet.

When Jacqueline Fernandez was questioned along with the conman, she had admitted to receiving from him 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 colored diamond bracelet.

Known for films like "Kick", "Bhoot Police'' and "Vikrant Rona", the actor is the only accused named in a supplementary chargesheet. She has said she is a victim of a larger criminal conspiracy and that she was cheated.

Sukesh Chandrashekhar was arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly extorting around Rs 215 crore from Aditi Singh and Shivender Singh, former promoters of pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy.