Bollywood / Jacqueline Fernandez summoned by ED on Dec 8 in ₹200 crore extortion case probe

Mumbai: Enforcement Directorate has summoned Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez to appear before the investigators in Delhi on December 8, Wednesday. The summons have been issued in connection with ₹200 crore extortion case involving conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

The agency summoned Fernandez a day after stopping her at the Mumbai airport preventing her from flying abroad, stating that she may be required to join the ongoing money laundering investigation.

It was believed that Fernandez was either travelling to Dubai or Muscat. She left the airport around 6 pm after being stopped.

The Sri Lankan-origin actor was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in multiple sessions in connection with the over ₹200 crore money laundering case being probed against Chandrashekhar and his actor wife Leena Maria Paul.

The ED filed a charge sheet in this case before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Saturday, naming Chandrashekhar, his wife and six others.

It had alleged in the charge sheet that Chandrashekhar had gifted the actor numerous costly gifts, including some Persian cats and a horse. He is accused of cheating some people, including some high-profile individuals such as former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife Aditi Singh.

Another Bollywood actor-dancer Nora Fatehi has also been grilled by the ED in this case

Investigation found that Chandrashekhar was lodged in Delhi's Rohini jail when he allegedly ran an extortion racket using phone spoofing technology.

The ED had arrested the couple and two co-accused, Pradeep Ramnani and Deepak Ramnani, in this case.

In August, the ED raided some of Chandrashekhar's premises and seized a sea-facing bungalow in Chennai, ₹82.5 lakh in cash and over a dozen luxury 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 ₹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...," the ED had said.

Despite being in the jail, it said, Chandrashekhar "did not stop conning" people, the ED said.

"He (using 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.

Chandrasekhar and Paul were also arrested by the Delhi Police.

The police recently invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case.

The Delhi Police had alleged that Paul and Chandrashekhar, along with others, used Hawala routes, created shell companies to park the money earned from proceeds of crime.