Jacqueline Fernandez, the Hindi actor and former Miss Sri Lanka, was questioned as a witness by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday in connection to a Rs 200 crore money laundering case, NDTV reported.
The report further adds that she was a victim of the racket.
“She is not an accused, but is being examined as a witness in the case against conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar,” sources in the Enforcement Directorate told NDTV. Chandrashekar, the alleged mastermind of the racket, was introduced to Fernandez through his partner Leena Paul, as per the report.
The ED is probing the case which is based on an FIR filed by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing against Chandrashekhar and others over alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating, and extortion of about Rs 200 crore. The agency has seized a sea-facing bungalow in Chennai, along with Rs 82.5 lakh in cash and over a dozen luxury cars, in connection with the case.
According to The News Minute, Fernandez was one of many victims in the Rs 200 crore scam. Chandrasekhar, who was arrested in 2017 for attempting to bribe the Election Commission, was allegedly running the extortion racket from behind bars. As per the report, the ED said he had, with a cellphone procured illegally in prison, made “spoofed calls to dupe people as the numbers displayed on the called party’s phone number belonged to senior government officers. While speaking to these persons, he claimed to be a government officer offering to help people for a price.”
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In 2017, Chandrashekhar was accused of taking money from TTV Dhinakaran to bribe Election Commission officials in order to get the AIADMK’s ‘two leaves’ symbol for the Sasikala faction in a by-election for the RK Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu. He was jailed in Delhi for this, from where he was arrested early this month in the money laundering case.
NDTV reports that Fernandez was questioned for over five hours by the ED in Delhi on Monday. The report also states that she shared some crucial details regarding the case.
According to sources in the central agency, a top Hindi actor was also targeted by Chandrashekhar, but the actor’s name has not been revealed due to security reasons.
In a statement last week, the ED said, “Sukesh Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud. He has multiple FIRs against him and is presently lodged at the Rohini jail.”