Jacqueline Fernandez and Pinky Irani have been summoned by the EOW of Delhi Police at Mandir Marg in connection with the Rs 200 crore money laundering case allegedly involving Sukesh Chandrashekhar
New Delhi: Pinky Irani will be confronted with the Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez at the office of the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police on Wednesday.
Jacqueline and Pinky have been summoned by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police at Mandir Marg in connection with the Rs 200 crore money laundering case allegedly involving Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
Who is Pinky Irani?
Pinky Irani allegedly introduced Jacqueline to her to Sukesh Chandrashekhar. She has apparently helped Sukesh to contact Jacqueline as she knew both of them.
During the questioning today, Pinky and Jacqueline will confronted to get more clarity in the case.
ED officials earlier said that Sukesh and Jacqueline began their relationship in 2021 when the conman was lodged inside Tihar jail.
He started calling and messaging Jacqueline from prison. When the actor didn’t respond, he is believed to have reached out to Pinky, asking her to help him.
In a submission made by the ED in the Supreme Court, Pinky then approached Jacqueline’s make-up artist Shaan and also met him in the JW Marriott Hotel to convince him.
Shaan then convinced Jacqueline to contact Sukesh and said that he would be a good match for her and even had claimed that he also came from an influential family.
“They also allegedly told her that she was getting old and that her days in Bollywood were numbered. After much convincing, Fernandez agreed to speak to him,” a report by ED had quoted ED official as saying.
In February this year, the Patiala House Court had granted bail to Pinky Irani. She was arrested on 9 December, 2021, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Rs 200 crore money laundering case.
The ED had earlier confronted Mumbai-based Pinky Irani with Sukesh Chandrashekar inside Tihar Jail. The two were asked the same set of questions including how the two knew each other and whether she helped in illegal money laundering operations.
Before her arrest in 2021, Pinky was also confronted with Jacqueline.
Granting Pinky bail, Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh, in an order passed on 15 February, 2021, had said, “The accused/applicant is a woman of advanced age, therefore, once the investigation has been completed and the evidence, which is mostly documentary in nature, has been collected, I do not find that there is any possibility of accused applicant tampering with the evidence.”
“Considering the overall facts and circumstances, I find that no fruitful purpose will be served by keeping the accused in further custody. The accused/applicant is admitted to bail on her furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of like amount,” the court said.
Advocate RK Handoo appearing for Pinky submitted that in the prosecution complaint, it is nowhere alleged that she had helped/assisted Sukesh in the generation of proceeds of crime or as to how the applicant would have known that Sukesh was spending proceeds of crime and not the clean money. “The allegations of impersonating, dealing in cash or transferring money to Dubai to her son are all allegations determinable during the trial,” Handoo added.
The lawyer for Irani further said that Pinky had been interrogated at length on various occasions and recoveries have been made from her. “It is further submitted that the rigours of section 45 Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are not applicable in the case of the applicant as the applicant is covered by the first provision to Section 45,” he said.
Jacqueline Fernandez and her connection with conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar
The Delhi Police have prepared a list of questions Jacqueline in connection with her alleged relationship with Sukesh and the gifts she received from him. During the questioning, she is also said to be asked the exact number of times she met Sukesh.
The Bollywood actor has been informed in advance that she might have to stay in Delhi for few days as her investigation might stretch for a coupe of days or back to back.
Meanwhile, Jacqueline will also be quizzed how many times she had met or contacted Sukesh over the phone during that period.
“The set of questions prepared for Jacqueline is different from that which were asked to Nora Fatehi, who was earlier called for questioning in the case,” news agency ANI quoted an officer as saying.
Jacqueline was aware that Sukesh was a conman
In its supplementary charge sheet, the ED mentioned that Jacqueline was aware of the nature of Sukesh’s work but consciously chose to overlook it.
The ED charge sheet filed on 17 August stated, “Not only her but her family members and friends have benefited out of the relationship financially. Thus, it can be safely concluded that the lure of money ensured that the criminal history of the person she was engaging with did not matter.”
The probe agency also accused the Bollywood actress of “holding back” the truth and changing her statements consistently. She was also booked for tampering with evidence.
Sukesh Chandrashekhar, a native of Bengaluru in Karnataka, is currently lodged in Tihar jail and faces over 10 criminal cases registered against him.
With inputs from agencies
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