Rs. 200cr extortion case: Police questions Jacqueline for 8 hours
Jacqueline Fernandez was quizzed by the Delhi Police for about eight hours on Wednesday (September 14) in the Rs. 200cr extortion case related to conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. Pinky Irani, who had allegedly introduced Fernandez to Chandrashekhar, was also interrogated by the Economic Offences Wing. The police have found inconsistencies between their statements and will soon take a call on whether to summon Fernandez again.
Why does this story matter?
Fernandez has been embroiled in this case for the past several months and has also been questioned by ED numerous times. Notably, Chandrashekhar allegedly posed as a government official and extorted over Rs. 200cr from Aditi Singh, Religare Enterprises' former promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife. Eventually, it was from these funds that he sent luxurious gifts amounting to Rs. 10cr to Fernandez, said reports.
Fernandez reportedly 'co-operated' with the cops
The Judwaa 2 actor reached the probe agency at 11:30am and was allowed to leave around 8:00pm. Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav told portals, "Fernandez was grilled about her alleged role in the multi-crore money laundering case linked to Chandrashekhar and about the gifts she took from him, among other issues." "Fernandez answered the questions, and co-operated with [the police]," Yadav said.
Inconsistencies, loopholes emerged in the two women's statements
During the first round of questioning, cops found that the two women's statements were not in sync with each other, and hence, they might be interrogated again. Reportedly, they were first questioned separately and were subsequently confronted together to verify their statements. It has also been revealed that Irani was allegedly paid a huge sum (ranging in crores) to connect the conman to Fernandez.
Last Month, ED named the actor in the chargesheet
Fernandez was initially supposed to appear for questioning on Monday, but could only make it on Wednesday. To recall, Enforcement Directorate had charged Fernandez in the money laundering case last month, noting the actor was aware that Chandrashekhar was an "extortionist." During the investigations, the Housefull 2 actor maintained her innocence but also admitted to receiving gifts from him in the past.
What gifts did the actor receive from the conman?
As per the ED charge sheet, the 37-year-old actor had received a slew of luxurious gifts from the conman. These include five watches, 20 pieces of jewelry, 65 pairs of shoes, 47 dresses, 32 bags, four Hermes bags, nine paintings, and one Versace crockery set.
Earlier, Fernandez alleged bias in the investigation
Around August end, the actor filed a plea to the Appellate Authority of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and claimed to be a "victim." She wondered why she had been categorized as an accused, while another celebrity, actor-dancer Nora Fatehi was named a witness. Fernandez claimed that like other celebrities, she was "coerced or possibly conned or forced into receiving the gifts."
