New Delhi, Sep 21 Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order that dismissed her plea to quash money laundering proceedings initiated against her by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
As per the causelist uploaded on the apex court website, the matter has been listed for hearing on September 22 before a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih.
The case arises from allegations that Fernandez received expensive gifts and financial benefits from alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is accused of defrauding several high-profile individuals.
The ED has claimed that assets worth Rs. 7.2 crore linked to Fernandez were "proceeds of crime" and had attached them during the investigation.
In her petition before the Delhi High Court, Fernandez had contended that she was falsely implicated and could not be prosecuted under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). She maintained that she had no role in laundering Chandrashekhar’s alleged illegal wealth.
However, a single-judge Bench of Justice Anish Dayal of the Delhi High Court declined to interfere with the trial proceedings, holding that the allegations required examination before the trial court. The decision prompted Fernandez to move the Supreme Court.
The ED has filed multiple charge sheets in the case. In its supplementary charge sheet, it named Fernandez as an accused, while another Bollywood personality, Nora Fatehi, was examined as a witness.
The federal anti-money laundering agency has alleged that Pinky Irani, an aide of Chandrashekhar, facilitated the delivery of luxury gifts to Fernandez on his behalf. The actress, who hails from Sri Lanka, has been a prominent face in Hindi cinema for over a decade, also featuring in music videos and reality shows. A graduate in mass communication from the University of Sydney, she was crowned Miss Universe Sri Lanka in 2006 and represented her country at the Miss Universe pageant the same year.
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