Examined as witness by ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recorded the statement of actor Jacqueline Fernandez in New Delhi on Monday in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.

They said the 36year-old actor was examined for four hours as a witness in the case and her statement was recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The questioning of the actor was done in connection with the money laundering probe being conducted against Chandrasekhar who is an accused in an alleged multi-crore extortion racket. The ED last week had raided some of his premises and seized a sea-facing bungalow in Chennai, Rs 82.5 lakh cash, and over a dozen luxurious cars.

It had claimed in a statement that Chandrasekhar is a “known conman” and is being probed by the Delhi Police in a case of alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and extortion to the tune of about Rs 200 crore. “Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud. He has been part of the crime world since the age of 17. He has multiple FIRs against him and is presently lodged in Rohini jail in Delhi,” the ED had said. Despite being in the jail, it said, Chandrasekhar “did not stop conning people”. “He with the help of technology made spoofed calls to dupe people as the numbers displayed on the called party's phone number belonged to senior government officers. While speaking (from the prison) to these persons, he claimed to be a government officer offering to help people for a price,” the ED had claimed.