ED attaches assets worth Rs. 7.27 cr of Jacqueline Fernandez in Sukesh Chandrasekhar extortion racket

Hyderabad: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets amounting to Rs. 7.27 crore, including fixed deposits worth Rs. 7.12 crore, of actress Jacqueline Fernandez under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 in the case of Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

ED investigation revealed that a person impersonating a government official was calling people up and offering help for a price. The person had contacted Aditi Singh, wife of Shivinder Mohan Singh, impersonating the Union Home secretary, Union law secretary, an official from the Prime Minister's Office, and junior officials and extorted more than Rs. 200 crore from her over a period of a year on the pretext of contribution to party funds.

Investigation revealed that the said person was conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar who was running his illegal extortion business from Delhi Central Jail in connivance with jail officials.

During the investigation, searches were conducted under PMLA at various premises all over India, and properties seized, including a bungalow in Chennai, 26 cars, currency, and valuables – all valued at Rs. 45 crore.

Sukesh Chandrasekhar and eight other persons, including his wife Leena Maria Paul, were arrested under PMLA and subsequently prosecution complaint was filed before the Special PMLA Court, Patiala House Court, against all nine accused.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Sukesh Chandrasekhar had given various gifts worth Rs. 5.71 crore to Jacqueline Fernandez from the proceeds of crime generated by criminal activities, including extortion. He had asked Pinky Irani, his long-time associate and co-accused in the case, to deliver the gifts to the actress.

In addition to these gifts, Sukesh Chandrasekhar had also given funds to the tune of US$ 1,72,913 and AU$ 26,740 to the close family members of Jacqueline Fernandez out of the proceeds of crime through co-accused Avtar Singh Kochhar, an established and well-known international hawala operator.

Sukesh Chandrasekhar had also delivered cash to the tune of Rs. 15 lakh to a scriptwriter on behalf of Jacqueline Fernandez as an advance for writing a script for her web series. This cash amount has also been attached.