The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Saturday seized assets worth 7 crore of Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez in a money laundering probe connected with Sukesh Chandrashekhar’s extortion and money laundering case. According to the allegation, Sukesh, while serving a sentence at Tihar jail, had extorted money a businessman’s wife. Jacqueline Fernandez’s name popped up with regard to the ED’s earlier allegation that the actor had unearthed monetary transactions with Sukesh.
A ₹ 7-crore fixed deposit under actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s name has been attached as part of the investigation into the ₹ 200-crore money laundering case against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, sources have said.
The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth ₹ 7.27 crore – this includes the ₹ 7.12-crore fixed deposit and an amount of ₹ 15 lakh that was paid by Chandrashekhar to a script writer on the actor’s behalf.
The Enforcement Directorate alleges that Chandrashekhar gave gifts worth ₹ 5.71 crore to the actor from the ₹ 200-crore he allegedly extorted from the family of Shivinder Singh, former owner of Ranbaxy who was jailed in 2019 in a money laundering case.
The two, Chandrashekhar has claimed, were in a relationship.
The case against Chandrashekhar was registered following a complaint by Aditi Singh, wife of Shivinder Singh, who accused him of taking the money from her after promising her that he would arrange for her husband’s release.
As the investigation against Chandrashekhar widened, an uber-luxe lifestyle of a flamboyant con man came to the fore – a seaside mansion in Chennai, a fleet of 23 cars including a Ferrari, a Bentley and a Rolls Royce.
Investigators have questioned the actor over her links with the conman. She is learnt to have confessed to receiving a 1.5 lakh dollar loan from Chandrashekhar, along with gifts that included a horse worth ₹ 52 lakh, a Persian cat worth ₹ 9 lakh, gem-studded earrings and an Hermes bracelet. She reportedly also “received” a Mini Cooper car which she later returned.
The central agency, sources said, has also found that Chandrashekhar gave huge amounts to the family members of the Bollywood actor.
The Mumbai police Friday, opposing the bail of Independent MP Navneet Rana and her husband MLA Ravi Rana, claimed that their announcement to recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of the private residence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was with an intention to challenge law and order in the state to an extent where dissolution of the present government by the Governor of Maharashtra could be recommended.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert indicating severe heat for the Wardha, Akola, Chandrapur, and Yavatmal districts in Maharashtra for Saturday and Sunday.
