Jacqueline Fernandez knew of Sukesh Chandrashekhar's crimes, got gifts worth Rs 5.7 crore: ED

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez is in hot water with the law over her association with conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its chargesheet said that the Bollywood actor knew of Sukesh's criminal past and still accepted gifts, which are nothing but proceeds of crime. 

ED said that Jacqueline Fernandez also "cooked up a story", deleted all data from her phone related to the conman, which is tampering with evidence, and asked her staff also to delete everything related to Sukesh Chandrashekhar. 

"Jacqueline Fernandez was well aware of the criminal antecedents of Sukesh Chandrashekhar and also the fact that Leena Maria Paul is his wife in February 2021. She consciously chose to overlook his criminal past and continued to indulge in financial transactions with him," the chargesheet, as seen by India Today TV, says.

What did Jacqueline Fernandez receive from Sukesh? The 37-year-old Sri Lankan actor received several valuable gifts from Sukesh Chandrashekhar amounting to at least Rs 5.71 crore.

• 5 luxury watches
• 20 pieces of jewellery
• 2 diamond earrings and a multi-colored diamond bracelet
• 65 pairs of shoes
• 3 shoes from Louis Vuitton and Louboutin
• 47 dresses
• 2 outfits from Gucci
• Limited edition perfumes
• 4 cats
• A Rs 52 lakh horse
• A Mini Cooper (which she reportedly returned) 
• Two luxury cars - a Maserati and a Porsche - for her parents in Bahrain
• 4 Hermes bags
• 4 bags from Gucci, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior
• 9 paintings
• A Versace crockery set
• Reportedly, a house in Welgana, Sri Lanka
• Rs 7.12 crore to Fernandez, Rs 1.26 crore to her sister in the US, Rs 15 lakh to her brother in Australia and Rs 15 for Advaita Kala, a writer

The ED also accused Fernandez of holding back the truth, especially with regard to the properties Sukesh allegedly bought for her. Fernandez reportedly admitted to the gifts only after being questioned about each of them specifically by the ED based on statements of others and evidence. 

However, Fernandez reportedly told the ED that she was informed about the property, though she had never visited the place. It is not confirmed whether Sukesh Chandrashekhar really bought the properties or was lying to the actor. 

The ED further added that it can be "safely concluded that the lure of money ensured that the criminal history of the person she was engaging with, did not matter".

Recap: Sukesh Chandrashekhar and Jacqueline Fernandez's alleged relationship began in February 2021. By this time, Sukesh had been arrested several times and was out on bail. In fact, he reached out to the Bollywood actor while lodged in a jail in Chennai through his associate, posing as the owner of Sun TV.

He later started showering the actor with expensive gifts and entered into a relationship with her. Fernandez reportedly admitted to the ED that she googled Sukesh Chandrashekhar and knew about his run-ins with the criminal world. 

Bollywood actor #JacquelineFernandez served notice by Delhi Police for questioning on September 12 in a multi-crore money laundering case linked to conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar#ITVideo @AabhaBakaya pic.twitter.com/Is0arIQho9

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 31, 2022

Sukesh Chandrashekhar is currently lodged in Tihar jail and there are at least 30 cases lodged against him. Out of all the cases, two are the most prominent, which include extorting Aditi Singh, the wife of former Ranbaxy promoter Shivinder Singh, to the tune of Rs 200 crore on the pretext of getting her husband out of jail. Sukesh posed as a bureaucrat to fool Aditi Singh. 

In the other case, he is accused of taking Rs 50 crore from former AIADMK TTV Dhinakaran to bribe Election Commission officials.