New Delhi: Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez is in soup because of her alleged association with conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, against whom the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet. He is the prime accused in a Rs 200 crore extortion case.
The ED said he introduced himself to actor Jacqueline Fernandez as “Shekhar Ratna Vela”. He first tried to get in touch with her in December 2020 and January 2021, but she did not respond to his calls since she did not know who he was. The agency also revealed that Chandrashekhar then got in touch with the actor through her makeup artist Shaan Muttathil.
The makeup artist reportedly got a call from someone claiming to be a government official who said that the actor must get in touch with Shekhar Ratna Vela, who is a ‘very important person,’ India Today reported.
Jacqueline Fernandez in her statement said, Chandrashekhar gifted her:
- Two pairs of diamond earrings
- Two Hermes bracelets
- Three Birkin bags
- A pair of Louis Vuitton shoes
- Two Gucci outfits for gym wear
- A multi-coloured bracelet of stones from the conman who is the prime accused in a Rs 200 crore extortion case.
In his statement recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA Act, Sukesh Chandrashekhar said that he gifted the actress:
- 15 pairs of earrings
- 5 Birkin bags
- Luxury goods from Chanel, Gucci
- Cartier bangles and rings
- A bracelet by Tiffany & Co.
- Rolex watches
- A loan of USD 150,000 for her sister, who lives in the US and a BMW X5 car
- A Maserati to her and her mother in Bahrain a Porsche
- A loan of USD 50,000 to her brother in Australia
- Jewellery worth Rs 7 crore.
The conman also gifted the actor a Mini Cooper which she claimed she returned.
Conman introduced himself as the owner of ‘Sun TV’
In her statement to the ED, Jacqueline Fernandez said Sukesh Chandrashekhar introduced himself to her as the owner of Sun TV. He also claimed that he was part of the ‘political family’ of former Tamil Nadu chief minister the late J Jayalalithaa.
The conman told the actor that he was a big fan and that she should become a part of some of the ‘many film projects’ he had lined up in the south, India Today reported.
Jacqueline Fernandez also said that she used to visit showrooms of luxury brands and identify products. She would then send a list of these products to Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who paid for them and got them delivered to her either directly or through one of his aides, the report added.
