Jacqueline Fernandez was allegedly gifted jewellery worth over Rs 7 crore by Sukesh Chandrashekhar, the ED said. He also gave several things to her family.

Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar had bought a house in Sri Lanka for Jacqueline Fernandez and made an advance for a bungalow in Mumbai’s upscale Juhu locality for her, the Enforcement Directorate’s chargesheet read.

“When asked about her WhatsApp chat with accused Pinky Irani about Sukesh having bought a new house for her in Sri Lanka, the actor admitted that Sukesh had bought a property at Weligama in Sri Lanka for her. However, she never visited the said property,” the charge sheet said.

According to the probe agency, the conman had told his associate Pinky Irani about his plans to buy the houses. Pinky Irani was tasked by Sukesh to introduce Jacqueline Fernandez to him and was allegedly paid in crores of rupees for the job.

“Sukesh Chandrasekhar also conveyed to Pinky Irani that he had given some token money to buy a house for Jacqueline in Mumbai’s Juhu beach area and that he had already gifted a house to the actor’s parents in Bahrain. Further, he was negotiating to buy a house in Sri Lanka for the actor,” the chargesheet revealed.

The ED is investigating whether Sukesh actually bought any of these properties. When officials questioned Jacqueline about them, she admitted that Sukesh had told her about a house for her in Sri Lanka but she had never been there.

“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 ₹ 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 ₹ 7.12 crore to the actor – ₹ 1.26 crore to her sister in the US, ₹ 15 lakh to her brother in Australia and gifts worth ₹ 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.

-ND TV AND INDIA TODAY REPORT-