The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had summoned Bollywood actresses Nora Fatehi and Jacqueline Fernandez in connection with an alleged Rs 200-crore money-laundering case against con artists Sukesh Chandrasekar and his actor-wife Leena Paul.
On Saturday (October 23), his lawyer, Anant Malik, claimed that Jacqueline was in a relationship with Sukesh.
However, Jacqueline’s spokesperson denied the allegations and said in a statement, “Jacqueline Fernandez is being called to testify as a witness by the ED. She has duly recorded her statements and in future will also be completely cooperating with the agency in the investigations. Jacqueline also categorically denies alleged slanderous statements made about the relationship with the involved couple."
The Enforcement Directorate questioned Fatehi about her connections to the accused couple, sources said.
The agency had earlier questioned actor Jacqueline Fernandes. Reports suggest that the ED is looking into the possibility that money was invested abroad and it was led by Sukesh Chandrashekar.
Who is Sukesh Chandrashekhar and what is the case?
Sukesh Chandrasekhar is a native of Bengaluru in Karnataka and is believed to be in his late thirties, as per a News18 report.
Chandrasekhar, who is also known by name Balaji duped people by promising them jobs. Posing as a relative of a politician, he, reportedly, have duped more than 100 people and cheated them to the tune of Rs 75 crore. He is also accused of running an extortion racket worth Rs 200 crore from inside the Tihar jail.
Chandrasekhar and his wife Leena Paul were recently taken in custody by the ED while they were already in jail after being arrested by the Delhi Police on charges of cheating some people including some high-profile individuals including former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife Aditi Singh.
In August, the ED had raided some of Chandrashekhar's premises and seized a sea-facing bungalow in Chennai, Rs 82.5 lakh cash and over a dozen luxurious cars. It had claimed in a statement that Chandrashekhar is a "known conman" and is being probed by the Delhi Police in a case of alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and extortion to the tune of about Rs 200 crore.
"Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud. He has been part of the crime world since the age of 17. He has multiple FIRs against him and is presently lodged in Rohini jail (in connection with the Delhi Police case)," the ED had said.
Despite being in the jail, it said, Chandrashekhar "did not stop conning" people, the ED said. "He (with a cellphone procured illegally in prison) with the help of technology, made spoofed calls to dupe people as the numbers displayed on the called party's phone number belonged to senior government officers. "While speaking (from prison) to these persons, he claimed to be a government officer offering to help people for a price," the ED had claimed.
(With inputs from PTI)
