She Was In Connivance With Sukesh Why Court Called Jacqueline Fernandez Accused Not Victim In 200 Crore Extortion Case

On Saturday, a Delhi Court directed that charges be framed against Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez and others in a money laundering case linked with conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. Since the case had been exposed, Jacqueline had maintained that she was a victim, not a willing participant in the scam. But the court noted that there is prima facie sufficient material to indicate that Jacqueline Fernandez received luxurious gifts from Sukesh Chandrasekhar despite being aware of his criminal activities.

On Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Prashant Sharma of Patiala House Court directed that charges be framed against all the accused in the ₹200 crore money laundering and extortion case linked to Sukesh Chandrashekhar.

While framing charges, the court spoke about Jacqueline's alleged involvement. “She was in connivance with Sukesh Chandrasekhar to conceal the use of proceeds of crime (POC),” the court stated.

The court noted that the allegations against Jacqueline were that she received gifts worth ₹5.71 crore from Sukesh Chandrasekhar, knowing of his criminal past through the accused Pinky Irani and Leepakshi Ellawadi. It is also alleged that she received $172K (over ₹1.4 crore) into the foreign bank account of her sister, Geraldine J Walker, and Australian $26K (over ₹10 lakh) into the foreign bank account of her brother, Warren J Fernandez.

While framing the charges, ASJ Prashant Sharma said, “I conclude that prima facie there is sufficient material on record, raising a strong suspicion that the accused Jacqueline Fernandez committed the offence under section 3 of PMLA, punishable under section 4 of PMLA.”

The court also observed, “During the recording of the statement, Jacqueline Fernandez and, upon being confronted with evidence of the purchase of cars for the parents of Jacqueline, recovered from the mobile of Pinki, she admitted to receiving cars from her parents, which indicated her connivance with the accused Sukash for concealing the use of POC, which was to buy the cars for her parents.”

The court said that Jacqueline Fernandez was fully aware of Sukesh's criminal activities. It added that some of the accused had sent Jacqueline a news article mentioning Sukesh's involvement in various offences, including the TTV Dinakaran Bribery Case, the Canara Bank Fraud Case and defrauding people in the name of investment in their bogus firms on the promise of high returns. However, she received proceeds of crime in the form of luxurious gifts, payments to her brother, and a car gifted to her parents.

Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More