Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez on Wednesday appeared before the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police in connection with the Rs2 billion money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
A senior police officer told ANI that EOW has prepared a list of questions to be answered by Fernandez. The questions were based on her relationship with Chandrashekhar and the gifts she got from him. She will also be asked how many times she had met or contacted Chandrashekhar over the phone during that period, the officer added.
Meanwhile, Pinky Irani, who had apparently introduced Fernandez to Chandrashekhar, also arrived at the office of the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police on Wednesday in connection with the money laundering case.
She has been summoned by EOW to join the investigation.
Irani apparently helped Chandrashekhar to contact Fernandez as she knew both of them. According to sources, Irani and Fernandez might be confronted during questioning to get more clarity in the case. Fernandez has been communicated that her investigation might get stretched for a couple of days or back to back and hence told to plan her stay in Delhi accordingly.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) named Fernandez in their chargesheet in the money laundering case that involves Chandrashekhar.
The probe agency chargesheet stated that Fernandez knew about Chandrashekhar’s involvement in criminal cases but she chose to overlook his criminal past and got involved in financial transactions with him.
“The set of questions prepared for Jacqueline is different from that were asked to Nora Fatehi, who was earlier called for questioning into the case,” said another officer.
They have to also find out if both the actresses involved in the case were aware of each other receiving gifts, the officer added.
In September-October 2021, the enforcement agency recorded statements of Fatehi where she acknowledged having received gifts from the alleged conman and his actor wife Leena.
ED had registered a money laundering case in the alleged scam over the FIR registered by the Delhi Police. The agency had earlier stated that Fernandez’s statements were recorded on August 30 and October 20, 2021, where she admitted to having received gifts from Chandrashekar.
It also said that Fernandez had used proceeds of crime and bought valuable gifts for herself and her family members in India as well as abroad which amounts to an offence of money laundering under section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.
Chandrashekhar, a native of Bengaluru in Karnataka, is currently lodged in a Delhi jail and faces over 10 criminal cases registered against him.
Chandrashekhar has been accused of extorting Rs2 billion when he was lodged in Rohini jail, from Aditi Singh, the wife of jailed former Ranbaxy owner Shivinder Singh, while posing as an official from the union law ministry and the PMO, on the pretext of getting her husband out on bail.
