Bollywood star Jacqueline Fernandez appears for questioning in INR 2 billion money laundering case

Bollywood actor Jaqueline Fernandez’s friendship with alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar has attracted a lot of attention and the actor hasn’t stopped being in the headlines since. The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) filed charges against Chandrashekhar and others in connection with INR 2 billion money laundering case and Fernandez’s association with him has got the ED investigating her as well.

Clad in black, Fernandez appeared at the ED office in Delhi on Wednesday for a fresh round of questioning.

Just two days earlier, on her way to Dubai for a show, the 36-year-old actor was held back by immigration officials at the Mumbai airport, according to Times of India, because of her connection with Chandrashekhar, who is involved in money laundering and extortion cases.

Times of India said that Fernandez was stopped due to the issuance of a Look Out Circular against her, which is a letter used to identify and stop suspects or the accused from crossing borders. She was detained briefly and let go but told that she’d have to appear at the law enforcement agency in Delhi for questioning.

Chandrashekhar is in the Tithar jail and has now now been accused of running an extortion racket from inside prison, according to the Times of India. He reportedly extorted money from the wife of a businessman while serving a sentence at the jail.

Fernandez’s name surfaced in an earlier ED investigation where officials suspected that Fernandez and her siblings had received a huge amount of money from Chandrashekhar. He reportedly sent huge amounts of laundered money to her accounts from Dubai.

The agency said that Fernandez was also given costly gifts, such as a horse worth INR 5.2 million and a Persian cat worth INR 0.9 million by Chandrashekhar. Actor Nora Fatehi was also questioned in the case.

Several months back, Fernandez’s pictures with the alleged conman had gone viral and people had suggested they were in a relationship, which Fernandez’s spokespeople had denied according to Times of India. Her spokespeople also said that she was testifying as a witness and would completely cooperate with the agency in future investigations.

Fernandez is a Sri Lankan actor and model who won the Miss Universe pageant in 2006 and debuted as an actor with the Indian film Aladin. Since then she’s starred in films such as Houseful 2, Murder 2 and Netflix films Drive and Mrs. Serial Killer. Her most recent release is Bhoot Police with Saif Ali Khan and Arjun Kapoor.