ED to question Jacqueline Fernandez over extortion case today
The summon notice was issued on December 6. According to her spokesperson, she is testifying before the agency as a witness.
Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in connection with an ongoing money-laundering investigation against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and others.
The summon notice was issued on December 6. According to her spokesperson, she is testifying before the agency as a witness.
On Sunday, the actor was briefly detained at the Mumbai airport, minutes before she was scheduled to fly abroad. Some agency officials reached the airport and disallowed the actor from travelling; Fernandez was then asked to remain in the country as she might be required to join the investigation.
She was reportedly flying to Dubai. After a brief detention, the actor left the airport at around 6pm.
In the past, Jaqueline had been questioned by the agency multiple times.
The federal agency is investigating a ₹200 crore money laundering case against Chandrashekhar and his actor wife Leena Maria Paul. He is accused of cheating some high-profile individuals, including former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife Aditi Singh.
According to the charge sheet filed before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, Chandrashekhar gave expensive gifts to Fernandez, including a Persian cat worth ₹9 lakh and a horse.
Another famous Bollywood actor and dancer Nora Fatehi has also been questioned by ED in the case.
As per the investigation, Chandrashekhar was lodged in the Rohini jail in Delhi, when he allegedly ran an extortion racket using phone spoofing technology. In August this year, the ED raided some of Chandrashekhar's premises and seized a sea-facing bungalow in Chennai, ₹82.5 lakh in cash and over a dozen luxury cars.
It had claimed in a statement that Chandrashekhar is a "known conman" and is being probed by the Delhi Police in a case of alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and extortion to the tune of about ₹200 crore.
The Delhi Police has also alleged that Paul and Chandrashekhar, along with others, used Hawala routes, created shell companies to park the money earned from proceeds of crime.
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