Jacqueline Fernandez Faces Fresh Setback in ₹200 Crore Money Laundering Case
Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez has suffered a major legal setback after a court ordered that charges be framed against her in the high-profile ₹200 crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
The case is connected to an alleged extortion racket operated by Sukesh Chandrashekhar and his associates, in which Jacqueline Fernandez’s name has remained under scrutiny for several years.
According to Indian media reports, Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Saturday approved the framing of charges against Sukesh Chandrashekhar, his wife Leena Maria Paul, Jacqueline Fernandez, and several other accused in a money laundering case related to the alleged ₹200 crore extortion of Aditi Singh.
Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma observed that, after reviewing the evidence available on record, there appeared to be sufficient material to proceed against all the accused named in the case. The court noted that there was strong suspicion against Sukesh Chandrashekhar, Leena Maria Paul, Deepak Ramnani, Pradeep Ramdani, B Mohan Raj, Arun Mathur, D Kamlesh Kothari, Pinky Irani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Pooja Singh, Dharam Singh Meena, Mahendra Prasad Sundriyal, Sunder Bora, Komal Poddar, Jitendra Narula, Avinash Kumar, and Jai Prakash Singhal, among others.
The court ruled that the accused would face charges under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), punishable under Section 4 of the same law. All accused have been summoned to appear before the court on June 3.
The development is significant because Jacqueline Fernandez has been linked to the case for years. Although she was not named as an accused in the extortion case itself, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has maintained a separate position regarding her alleged involvement in the money laundering aspect of the investigation.
The ED alleges that Jacqueline knowingly accepted expensive gifts purchased using proceeds of crime generated through Sukesh Chandrashekhar’s alleged illegal activities and extortion network. Investigators claim that the actress received gifts worth millions of rupees that were funded through the alleged criminal enterprise.
However, Jacqueline Fernandez has consistently denied all allegations. She maintains that she was unaware of Sukesh Chandrashekhar’s criminal background and activities and had no knowledge of the source of the funds used to purchase the gifts.
The Enforcement Directorate formally named Jacqueline Fernandez in its charge sheet filed on August 17, 2022. In a supplementary charge sheet, the agency further alleged that she received gifts worth approximately ₹57.1 million (₹5.71 crore) from Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
The actress, however, argues that she was herself a victim of Sukesh’s alleged deception and manipulation and had no involvement in any illegal activities.
With the court now ordering charges to be framed, the case has entered a new phase, where the allegations and evidence will be examined in greater detail during the upcoming hearings.