Jacqueline Fernandez Summoned Third Time For Probe In Rs 200 Crore Extortion Case

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez was summoned by the Delhi Police on September 14 to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) office for further questioning in the Sukesh Chandrashekhar investigation case involving a scam of Rs 215 crores. Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier registered a case of money laundering against Chandrashekhar. The alleged conman is currently in Tihar jail and faces over 10 criminal cases.

The Delhi Police has summoned actor Fernandez for the third time now. While the Delhi Police has summoned the actor for the third time this month, the actor had requested to postpone the scheduling owing to her prior commitments. She had asked for a fifteen-day window. However, Delhi Police has now summoned her to appear on September 14 and abide by the rules. The new charge sheet filed by the ED mentions that Fernandez knew about Chandrashekhar's alleged cons but chose to overlook his criminal past.

EOQ grilled Fernandez for eight hours and recovered a superbike, Ducati, that costs around 8 lakh rupees to Prashant, Fernandez's manager. Chandrashekhar gave Prashant the bike as a gift.

Special Commissioner of Police, EOW, Ravinder Yadav said, "There is more trouble for Jacqueline as she did not cut ties with Sukesh even after knowing his criminal antecedents." He added that she would be summoned again for further investigation.

On November 10, Fernandez arrived at Delhi's Patiala House Court in connection to the case. The court heard arguments on the bail petition moved by her.

The Delhi court reserved an order on the bail for tomorrow. Earlier, she was granted interim bail in the matter and the ED opposed the bail saying she tried to flee the country.

Suggested reading: ‘Victim Of Conspiracy’: Jacqueline Fernandez’s Lawyer Calls ED’s Prosecution ‘Unfortunate’

Ten Things To Know About The Jacqueline Fernandez 215 Crore Scam

1. The ED summoned Fernandez for the first time in August last year in connection with the money laundering investigation. The actor was questioned for four hours in the capital as a witness in the case. This questioning applied after Chandrashekhar was shifted to Tihar jail from Rohini Jail because, as per the ED, he was allegedly running an extortion racket from the jail itself.

2. It was reported last year that the actor herself was one of the victims of the con game Chandrashekhar played. Being one of the several people conned by him, the actor’s statements were of huge importance to the ED.

3. Chandrashekhar's lawyer revealed in October last year that the actor and Chandrashekhar were in a relationship. However, the actor’s spokesperson denied the allegations.

4. The ED prohibited the actor from flying out of the country when she was at a private airport in Mumbai in December last year. The ED revealed in the charge sheet that while Fernandez did receive luxury and expensive gifts from Chandrashekhar, she wasn’t aware of the conman’s real identity at the time, according to the actor’s statement.

5. In January 2022, when the reports of the two dating were doing the rounds with their private photos being circulated all over the internet, the actor took to her social media to request everyone to refrain from talking about her private life “I’m currently going through a rough patch but I’m sure that my friends and fans will see me through it. It is with this trust that I would request my media friends to not circulate images of a nature that intrude my privacy and personal space," she wrote. 

6. In February this year, some private photos of Fernadzes and Chandrashekhar were leaked across social media. The latter expressed his displeasure over the same in an alleged letter through his lawyer. He claimed that the circulation of the photographs was a breach of privacy and the media is to be blamed for it. Chandrashekhar mentioned how he and Fernandez were in a relationship and the gifts were tokens of love from his end. 

7. The ED linked assets worth Rs 7.27 crore to Fernandez in the money laundering case in April 2022. The assets included Rs 7.12 fixed crore under the actor’s name.

8. The Delhi court permitted Fernandez to travel abroad for the IIFA Awards in May 2022. This permit came long after the ED banned the actor from leaving the country.  

9. The Delhi Police had also questioned actor Nora Fatehi earlier this month on September 2. Fatehi was accused of accepting luxury gifts from Chandrashekhar. In 2021, the ED recorded statements of Fatehi where she acknowledged that she did receive gifts from Chandrashekhar and his wife.

10. In August this year, the police named Fernandez an accused in a supplementary charge sheet filed by the ED. Following this, a Delhi judge summoned the actor to appear before the court on September 26.