The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday named Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez as an accused in an over Rs 200 crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar and others. The 36-year-old ‘Vikrant Rona’ star has been questioned multiple times by the federal agency in the case. She was last grilled by the ED in June. In April this year, the ED attached assets worth Rs 7.27 crore belonging to Jacqueline in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
But the question remains: How did Jacqueline Fernandez, a Sri Lanka national, who made her acting debut in Bollywood with the fantasy action-comedy ‘Aladin’ in 2009, get involved in one of the biggest financial scams of India? Let’s take a look at a complete timeline of the case and Jacqueline’s alleged romance with Sukesh:
- August 2021: In August last year, the ED summoned Jacqueline for the first time in connection with the multi-crore money laundering investigation linked to alleged conman Sukesh. The actress was examined for four hours in New Delhi as a witness in the case and her statement was recorded under the provisions of the PMLA. This had come after Sukesh was shifted from Rohini jail to Tihar for allegedly running an extortion racket from behind bars.
- September 2021: Jacqueline was summoned once again by the ED for recording her statement in connection with the case. It was then reported that Jacqueline was possibly one of the many people conned by Sukesh, who would reportedly contact the actress via caller ID spoofing from Tihar jail.
- October 2021: In a sensational turn of events, Sukesh’s lawyer claimed that Jacqueline was in a relationship with Sukesh. “Jacqueline and Sukesh were dating, these are my instructions… This is straight from the horse’s mouth,” Anant Malik, the lawyer representing Sukesh Chandrashekhar, told the media in October last year. However, Jacqueline’s spokesperson categorically denied the allegations. “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 (Sukesh and his wife Leena Maria Paul),” the actor’s representative said in a statement.
- November 2021: Jacqueline’s private photos with Sukesh went viral on social media. The photo showed Sukesh kissing the actress on her cheek while taking a selfie. The photo was said to be taken between April and June last year when Sukesh was out on interim bail.
- December 2021: Jacqueline was stopped from flying abroad by the ED officials at a private airport in Mumbai. Later, in its charge sheet, the ED stated that Jacqueline received luxury cars and other expensive gifts from Sukesh. Jacqueline, however, told the agency officials that though Sukesh lavished several expensive gifts on her, she wasn’t aware of the conman’s real identity at the time. Sukesh apparently made a “spoofed” call replicating the office number of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to befriend Jacqueline and claimed that he hailed from late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s “political family”, the ED said in the chargesheet.
- January 2022: While the news and reports of Sukesh and Jacqueline’s love affair were still flooding the internet, in January, another intimate photo of the duo where the conman was kissing the actress and she was showing off her hickey while taking a selfie went crazily viral on social media. Soon after, Jacqueline made a request to the media via an Instagram post to not circulate her private photos. “I’m currently going through a rough patch but I’m sure that my friends and fans will see me through it. It is with this trust that I would request my media friends to not circulate images of a nature that intrude my privacy and personal space,” wrote Jacqueline on her Instagram page.
- February 2022: Sukesh came to Jacqueline’s rescue as he expressed his displeasure over the private photos of him with Jacqueline being circulated on social media. In an alleged letter to the media via his lawyer, Sukesh claimed that the circulation of these private and personal photographs was a breach of privacy. Sukesh also said in the letter that he was in a relationship with Jacqueline and gifts to her were out of love. He emphasised that “the relationship was not based on any kind of monetary benefits like the way it’s projected, commented and trolled in a bad light.”
- April 2022: The ED attached assets worth Rs 7.27 crore belonging to Jacqueline in the money laundering case. The attached assets included a fixed deposit worth Rs 7.12 crore under the Ram Setu actress’ name.
- May 2022: Jacqueline was allowed by a Delhi court to travel abroad to attend the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards. The actress was earlier banned from leaving India by the ED.
- August 2022: Jacqueline was named an accused in a supplementary charge sheet filed by the ED in the extortion case against conman Sukesh.
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