Sukesh Chandrashekhar, the conman who is currently in custody in relation to the Rs 200 crore money laundering case, has accused actor Jacqueline Fernandez of “not telling the truth” in her submissions to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the case, News18 reported.
In transcripts and audio clips of his questioning, acquired by News18, Chandrashekhar told the ED that he transferred $180,000 to Fernandez’s sister Geraldine, who lives in the US, instead of $150,000 as claimed by the actor.
The ED is probing the case based on a 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.
Recently, a chargesheet filed by the ED stated that Fernandez received luxury cars, phones, and other expensive gifts from Chandrashekhar. He was in touch with Fernandez till his arrest and had “provided various gifts to her and her family members, arranged chartered flights for her within India and hotel stays, made payments in cash to a scriptwriter on (her) behalf… All these expenses/payments were made by Sukesh Chandrashekhar out of proceeds of crime acquired through criminal activities related to a scheduled offence,” the chargesheet stated.
In August, Fernandez was questioned by the ED as a witness in the case for over five hours in Delhi. She was considered to be one of many victims in the Rs 200 crore scam. The actor was again questioned by the ED in October for over seven hours.
Recently, she was deboarded from a flight by immigration officials at the Mumbai airport due to a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against her by the ED. The actor was later allowed to leave Mumbai the same evening.
According to the News18 report, Chandrasekhar claimed to be a friend of Fernandez and told the ED that he had given her “several gifts and high-end clothing.” When he was told by ED officials that the actor had stated Chandrashekhar loaned $150,000 to her sister Geraldine, he said that wasn’t the truth. “No, she is not telling the truth. Through Deepak Ramnani (who has also been arrested), I transferred $180,000 and BMW (X5) to Geraldine,” he claimed.
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Fernandez had earlier confirmed to the ED that she had received expensive gifts from Chandrasekhar. In her replies to the ED, the transcripts of which were also accessed by News18, the actor mentioned that Chandrasekhar approached her under the alias Shekhar Ratna Vela and pretended to be the owner of Sun TV.
“Shekhar told me that he is a big fan. Soon he told me that I should movies in south India and that Sun TV is producing many such movies. Since February, I was in touch with him. He gave me his number… and asked me to make calls on this number,” Fernandez said.
Aside from the disputed loan amount to her sister, the actor also told ED officials that Chandrasekhar transferred Rs 15 lakh to her brother Warren, who resides in Australia.