Actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who has been summoned by the Delhi Police for the third time, is expected to arrive at the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) office on Wednesday morning where she will be questioned over her links with Sukesh Chandrashekhar in an ongoing investigation into a scam worth Rs 215 crore. The actress has previously been summoned twice but did not appear on both occasions.
When Chandrashekhar was lodged in jail, he had allegedly extorted the amount from Aditi Singh — wife of jailed former Ranbaxy owner Shivinder Singh — posing as officials from the Union Law Ministry and the PMO on the pretext of getting her husband out on bail.
Fernandez, who is being investigated over allegations of receiving luxury gifts from Chandrashekhar bought using the proceeds of crime, was earlier summoned by the Delhi Police on August 29 when she requested a postponement citing her schedule. She was then summoned for September 12 but she again did not appear.
A senior police officer told CNN-News18 that they have prepared a questionnaire of more than 50 questions that will be placed before Fernandez. She has been asked to report at the EOW office at Mandir Marg by 11am on Wednesday, the officer said.
“The questions largely relate to the gifts she had allegedly received from Chandrashekhar. She will be asked how many times she met him or connected with him over the phone during the period when he was posing as a government official from jail to extort the money,” the officer said.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had questioned Fernandez on August 30 and October 20 last year, after which the officials said she admitted receiving gifts from Chandrashekar.
ED had also said that Fernandez had used proceeds of crime to buy gifts for herself and her family members in India as well as abroad, and that this amounts to an offence of money laundering under Section 3 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Both ED and Delhi Police have also filed a chargesheet in the court in each of their cases.
The ED chargesheet stated that Fernandez knew but chose to overlook conman Chandrashekhar’s criminal past and knowingly indulged in financial transactions with him.
Earlier this month, on September 2, actress Nora Fatehi, who also faces allegations of receiving luxury gifts from Chandrashekhar, was also questioned by the Delhi Police. The ED had also recorded statements of Fatehi last year on September 13 and October 14, where she had acknowledged having received gifts from the alleged conman and his actor wife Leena Maria Paul.
ED had registered a case of money laundering in the alleged scam over the FIR registered by the Delhi Police.
Sukesh Chandrshekhar, a native of Bengaluru in Karnataka, is currently lodged in a Delhi jail and faces over 10 criminal cases.
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