The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday opposed actress Jacqueline Fernandez’s application to become a V.I $A Rs 200-crore money laundering case has been filed against fraudster Sukesh Chandrasekhar, alleging that she actively benefited from the proceeds of crime and is now seeking to evade prosecution.
The ED told special judge Prashant Sharma at the Patiala House Courts that Fernandes was not an “unintended victim” as she claimed. She said she remained in constant contact with Chandrasekhar despite knowing his criminal background and receiving gifts he arranged from laundered money.
“This ongoing interaction through multiple ways of communicating and obtaining benefits negates any allegation on the part of the unwitting victim, highlighting instead her conscious connection to the principal perpetrator and to the illicit gains,” the response said.
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The agency described Fernandez’s behavior during the investigation as far from cooperative because she consistently failed to make honest disclosures to the emergency department.
Special Prosecutor Atul Tripathi said that the aim of making the accused consent was to obtain evidence from less culpable accused to prosecute the more culpable accused, but the applicant’s role was not that of a secondary participant but that of a major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime.
“Awarding her the position of approver in this case would amount to a miscarriage of justice and undermine the seriousness of the crime she committed,” the executive said.
The court set the next hearing for May 12, after Fernandez’s lawyer asked for time to obtain instructions.
