A court docket in India has granted bail to Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez in a case of cash laundering.
The 37-year-old actress is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Indian authorities company that investigates monetary crimes.
It has accused her of monetary misdemeanour and needs her in custody.
Fernandez’ lawyer Prashant Patil denies the costs and insists there is no such thing as a authorized case towards her.
Who’s Jacqueline Fernandez?
The case has made headlines in India due to the celeb standing of Fernandez.A Sri Lankan magnificence pageant winner and mannequin, she debuted in Bollywood in 2009 and has established herself as a preferred actress.Movie critics usually trash her appearing talents, however Fernandez has been paired with a few of the business’s largest stars, together with Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan, and starred in some hits.She has participated in stage reveals in India and overseas alongside superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra and labored as a decide on a preferred dance actuality present.A celeb endorser for a number of huge manufacturers, the actress is routinely present in media lists of “most fascinating” girls, “the world’s sexiest Asian girls” and the “hottest Indian celebrities”.However since final yr, she has been embroiled in an unseemly controversy involving an alleged conman, particulars of high-priced presents she’s acquired from him, and accusations of cash laundering towards her.ED officers have known as her for questioning on a number of events, filed costs towards her in court docket and had been pitching to arrest her. However on Tuesday, a Delhi court docket dominated in her favour and allowed her bail.
What’s the case towards Fernandez?
The case centres round her relationship with Sukesh Chandrasekhar – a 32-year-old man accused of extortion by a number of folks and described by the authorities and Indian press as a “conman”.In keeping with court docket paperwork, Chandrashekhar, who’s been in jail since 2018 in reference to different circumstances, was named in a contemporary grievance in August final yr the place he was accused of extorting a enterprise household of 2bn rupees ($24.6m; £20.9m) in 2020. His lawyer Ashok Ok Singh has denied all the costs towards his shopper and mentioned that “he has been framed”.
Whereas investigating this case, officers say they discovered that between February and August final yr, Chandrasekhar had lavished Jaqueline Fernandez with presents price 71.2m rupees which included designer purses, garments, jewelry, a horse, vehicles for her siblings and fogeys, properties and money funds.Fernandez doesn’t deny the presents however Mr Patil, her lawyer, says that she can also be “a sufferer” of an elaborate crime.
Their relationship
In keeping with court docket papers, Chandrashekhar first approached Fernandez in December 2020 by Pinky Irani – a girl who was arrested a yr after that for her connections with the alleged conman and freed on bail later – however the actress didn’t present any curiosity in him then.She first spoke to him on the finish of January 2021 after her workers acquired a name from what they believed was the Indian residence ministry saying that the actress ought to communicate to Chandrashekhar as he was an necessary official. Investigators say this was a “spoof name” which confirmed Chandrashekhar’s quantity as belonging to the house ministry.
Fernandez says he informed her that he was the scion of a prime political household from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, that he owned a widely known information TV channel and a giant jewelry agency and that he was fascinated with producing a mission for a streaming service together with her because the lead.
She met him twice within the southern metropolis of Chennai when he was out on parole to attend his uncle’s funeral.
Mr Patil insists that Fernandez had no concept that he was in jail as a result of he was on video calls together with her on a regular basis – prisoners shouldn’t have unfettered entry to telephones – and had despatched her movies of himself travelling in personal jets.
Mr Patil denies that Fernandez was relationship Chandrasekhar. “This was the stage earlier than that, he was chasing her and was calling her dad and mom and siblings and shopping for them costly presents in a bid to impress them. She was contemplating him.”
In keeping with court docket paperwork, he had gifted her a diamond ring from Tiffany with their initials inscribed on it and proposed to her.
What do investigators say?
Officers say that Fernandez knew early on within the relationship who Chandrasekhar was as a result of her workers had despatched her articles about his alleged legal actions on 12 February final yr.
However the actress says she believed Ms Irani’s clarification – that “she had identified Chandrasekhar for 13 years, that he was from an excellent household and the press articles had been faux information promoted by his political rivals” – and re-established contact with him a couple of days later. She says she broke off with him in August final yr after she noticed information of him being re-arrested by police whereas in jail.
However officers say that she “conveniently neglected his alleged legal previous and continued to just accept presents from him which signifies that she was receiving proceeds of crime”.
In addition they accuse her of withholding data, deceptive them and deleting messages from her cellphone that might have been used as proof within the case.
What’s her defence?
Mr Patil says Fernandez deleted the messages she had shared with Chandrasekhar “as a result of you possibly can perceive the trauma she went by when she found that he was a conman”.
“These had been personal communications of a star and there have been photos that she did not need folks to see. You possibly can’t go after her private pictures. It’s a must to shield the dignity of a girl.”
Fernandez is “a sufferer of lies similar to the others that Mr Chandrasekhar is alleged to have conned”, Mr Patil says, including that accusations of cash laundering or that she took proceeds of crime are unlikely to stay towards his shopper.
“The Supreme Court docket says that information of crime is essential. However Jacqueline wasn’t conscious of Chandrasekhar’s involvement in any crime. Possibly you possibly can query her and say what she did was morally improper, however are you able to says it is legally improper?
“The case has no benefit. I feel she would get justice from the court docket,” he provides.
