The Delhi High Court recently heard arguments from Bollywood actress Jacqueliene Fernandez’s legal team regarding the money laundering charges linked to conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. Her lawyers contended that she cannot be prosecuted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as she neither participated in criminal activities nor benefited economically from the alleged proceeds of crime. The allegations against Jacqueline Fernandez stem from her alleged association with Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is accused of extorting 200 crore from Aditi Singh.
Jacqueliene Fernandez received lavish gifts from Chandrashekhar, which his illicit activities funded the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claims. However, her lawyers assert that she had no knowledge of the criminal origins of these gifts and was unaware of the extortion racket until the case surfaced through Singh’s complaint. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Siddharth Agarwal, along with advocates Prashant Patil and Shakti Pandey, represented Fernandez. They argued that, under PMLA, a person can only be prosecuted for money laundering if they knowingly derived economic benefits from a scheduled offence. Fernandez, they claimed, did not meet this criterion as she had no involvement in or awareness of Chandrashekhar’s criminal actions.
The legal team also referenced a precedent set in the Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary case, emphasizing that not all property linked to an accused in a money laundering investigation can be assumed to be proceeds of crime. They further pointed out that Fernandez is a witness in the extortion case being prosecuted under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and argued that she cannot be simultaneously accused in the money laundering case based on the same facts.
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Advocate Zoheb Hossain represented the ED and is expected to present the agency’s counterarguments in the next hearing. Justice Anish Dayal has scheduled the hearing for December 3, during which the ED will submit its detailed response to Fernandez’s plea challenging the charge sheet filed against her.
The case continues to attract significant public and legal attention, with the focus now on the ED’s stance. For Jacqueliene Fernandez, the legal team’s submission is a pivotal effort to clear her name and establish her lack of complicity in the alleged money laundering activities.