Jacqueline Fernandez has claimed in a plea challenging freezing of her assets in the Sukesh Chandrasekhar money-laundering cases that she was unaware of his con as the jailed conman wore branded clothes and was available 24×7 on video call from inside his cell. Although she is an accused in the cases, she said in her plea before PMLA’s adjudicating authority in Delhi that she was a victim conned by Sukesh rather than an accused as alleged by the Enforcement Directorate.
Jacqueline has moved the appellant authority challenging the attachment of her assets worth Rs. 7.12 crore by freezing her bank fixed deposits. She said that the FDs had no nexus with crime and were deposits from her own legitimate income, made much before she got to know Sukesh.
The actress said in her plea that after the initial contact was made where Sukesh Chandrasekhar posed as an important man, most of her conversations with him took place over video calls where he could be seen wearing expensive clothing every time. “He would speak from a corner in his room… and used to claim that he was working at his factory in NOIDA for a few months where the signals were very bad, and that was the only corner where there would be a good signal,” her plea stated. She added that she never imagined that he was speaking to her from jail.
The actress’ plea termed as “surprising” that while other celebrities — notably Norah Fatehi — were also conned by Sukesh, only she (Jacqueline) was dragged into the matter as an accused.