Conman posed as government official to get close to Jacqueline Fernandez: ED

In the nearly 3000 page chargesheet filed against conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, the Enforcement Directorate has revealed that he had posed as a government official to get close to two prominent Bollywood actresses - namely Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi - in the same way that he had posted as an official from Amit Shah's office to dupe the wives of jailed Ranbaxy promoters out of ₹200 crore.

The chargesheet accuses Chandrashekhar of spoofing a call to Fernandez claiming to be a high-ranking official in then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's political part ly as well as the 'owner' of Sun TV. It is said that Chandrashekhar attempted this move because the actress was not keen on talking to him initially.

Fernandez has been questioned by the ED in Delhi over numerous gifts which had been given to her, which the agency alleges are proceeds from his extortion and money laundering activities. She was stopped at an airport in Mumbai and ordered to present herself for questioning before the ED on December 8.

"[Fernandez] received gifts viz three Gucci and Chanel designer bags, two Gucci outfits for gym wear, a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes, two pairs of diamond earrings and a bracelet of multi-coloured stones, and two Hermes bracelets. She also received a Mini Cooper, which she returned," a report in the Indian Express quotes the chargesheet as saying. In earlier reports, Persian cats worth 9 lakh each and a horse worth around 50 lakhs were also gifted to the actress.

Chandrashekhar, in his statement to the agency, claimed that he gave Jacqueline jewellery worth Rs 7 crore. In addition, Sukesh also offered a loan of USD 150,000 (Rs 1.13 crore) to Jacqueline's sister, who lives in the US and also gave her a BMW X5 car. The conman apparently also gifted Jacqueline's parents a Maserati and her mother in Bahrain a Porsche, reports India Today.com.

In addition to the gifts given to Fernandez, Sukesh's wife Leena Maria Paul had claimed she and her husband were fans of actress Nora Fatehi, and that "they were going to gift her a brand-new BMW car as a token of love and generosity". Fatehi has denied any connection to the conman and his wife and her representatives have claimed she is a victim of circumstances.

Chandrashekhar and his wife have had assets worth lakhs siezed from Chennai and Delhi, and are accused of running money laundering activities as well as duping the wives of jailed Malvinder and Shivinder Singh of ₹200 crore. Chandrashekhar lkegedlt rn the extortion racket with the help of Tihar jail officials, spoofing calls to pose as an important official in the Home Ministry that could get the two men bail, the ED claims.