Court says Jacqueline Fernandez accepted luxury gifts, knew of Sukesh Chandrasekhar's criminal past, orders charges against her in Rs 200 crore money laundering case

Jacqueline Fernandez has been in legal trouble with regards to Sukesh Chandrasekhar's Rs 200 crore money laundering case. Ever since the case came to light, the actress has maintained that she was a victim of Sukesh’s deception and had no role in the alleged scam. However, as per the latest update on the matter, the court observed that there was prima facie material suggesting that she accepted expensive gifts from Sukesh despite being aware of his criminal background.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Prashant Sharma of the Patiala House Court directed that charges be framed against all accused in the case. While discussing Jacqueline’s alleged role, the court remarked, “She was in connivance with Sukesh Chandrasekhar to conceal the use of proceeds of crime (POC).”

According to the court, Jacqueline is accused of receiving gifts worth Rs 5.71 crore from Sukesh Chandrasekhar even after being informed about his criminal antecedents by co-accused Pinky Irani and Leepakshi Ellawadi. Investigators have further alleged that $172,000 (over Rs 1.4 crore) was transferred to the foreign bank account of her sister, Geraldine J Walker, while Australian $26,000 (over Rs 10 lakh) was deposited into the account of her brother, Warren J Fernandez.

Explaining the basis for framing charges, ASJ Sharma stated, “I conclude that prima facie there is sufficient material on record, raising a strong suspicion that the accused Jacqueline Fernandez committed the offence under section 3 of PMLA, punishable under section 4 of PMLA.”

The court also referred to Jacqueline’s statement regarding luxury vehicles allegedly purchased for her parents using proceeds of crime. “During the recording of the statement, Jacqueline Fernandez and, upon being confronted with evidence of the purchase of cars for the parents of Jacqueline, recovered from the mobile of Pinki, she admitted to receiving cars from her parents, which indicated her connivance with the accused Sukash for concealing the use of POC, which was to buy the cars for her parents.”

Further, the court observed that Jacqueline was aware of Sukesh’s alleged criminal activities. It noted that she had been sent a news article detailing his alleged involvement in multiple cases, including the TTV Dinakaran bribery case, the Canara Bank fraud case, and schemes in which investors were allegedly cheated through bogus firms promising high returns. Despite this, the court said she allegedly continued to receive proceeds of crime in the form of luxury gifts, financial transfers made to her siblings, and a car purchased for her parents.