Jacqueline Fernandez Withdraws Plea to Become Government Witness in Rs 200 Crore Money Laundering Case

Mumbai. Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez withdrew her plea to become a government witness in the Rs 200 crore money laundering case on Tuesday from Delhi's Patiala House Court. Jacqueline backed down after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) strongly opposed her plea. The investigating agency claimed that Jacqueline is not a victim in this case but the main beneficiary of the crime.

In its reply filed in court on Monday, the ED stated that Jacqueline's role in this case is not minor and she has benefited from the money accumulated through money laundering. The agency argued that making Jacqueline a government witness would be an insult to justice and called her plea an abuse of the legal process.

The ED revealed that Jacqueline remained in constant contact with Sukesh Chandrashekhar, despite knowing his criminal background, and received expensive gifts and services from the earnings of his crime. The agency also accused her of not providing correct information during the investigation and repeatedly changing her statements.

The ED claims that in the initial stages, she hid facts about cash transactions, expensive gifts, and money sent to bank accounts, and only admitted some things when confronted with evidence. The investigating agency concluded that her statements were incomplete and contradictory.

This entire case is linked to conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who defrauded the wives of former promoters of Ranbaxy, Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh, of Rs 200 crore.

Jacqueline has been made an accused in the supplementary chargesheet in this case. Earlier, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court had also rejected her petitions to quash the case against her.