NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandes, besides taking expensive gifts including diamonds and car from conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar flew to Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu this year in luxury private jets and choppers arranged by him.
She used the helicopter service for a drop off from the airport in Kerala to the hotel, where she was staying during her two trips in the coastal state. The probe reveals the rut in Bollywood yet again this year after a drug scandal and accusations involving Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan.
These disclosures have been made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which is probing the money laundering charges against Chandrasekhar.
Chandrasekhar is being probed by the ED in connection with the money laundering case which it registered on the basis of the case registered by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for cheating ex-Fortis promoter Shivender Singh’s wife Aditi S Singh on pretext of getting bail to him.
Chandrashekhar had allegedly cheated over Rs 200 crore from Aditi S Singh. Besides Fernandes, the ED has also questioned another Bollywood actor Nora Fatehi in connection with the case.
The actress in her statement before the financial probe agency earlier in August this year had told ED that she did meet Sukesh in person.
“I travelled twice to Kerala on a private jet, he (Sukesh Chandrasekhar) also arranged the helicopter ride from the airport to the hotel. Both were personal trips,” Fernandes said.
She said that her first trip to Kerala lasted only a day while her second trip was for two days.
“The hotel expenses were taken care of by Sukesh (Chandrasekhar). I had pickups and drop offs in a private jet from Mumbai to Kerala and also helicopter rides were arranged from the airport to hotels,” she said.
The actress who is a Sri Lankan national said, “I also took two trips to Chennai to meet Sukesh (Chandrasekhar) and both were on private jets with return back to Mumbai,”
“The last trip I took was to Bangalore (Karnataka) but it was only one way, as I refused to go back in the private jet and I flew commercial,” she informed the ED.
Asked her trip to Chennai where she met Chandrasekhar, Fernandes told ED that the conman told her that her uncle had passed away following a heart attack
She said that he was depressed following which he had asked her to attend the funeral in Chennai.
“I said I would come to the funeral on the said date. But a day before I was leaving (for Chennai) he said the funeral could not happen that day as the priest had not given the date yet and it was yet to be determined. Chandrasekhar still requested me to come and meet him so I agreed,” she told ED.
Fernandes also told ED, “He (Sukesh Chandrasekhar) sent me a private jet to take me from Mumbai to Chennai. He did not meet me at the airport but had sent an assistant. I reached the Hyatt hotel and he arrived an hour after that.”
She said that they had lunch together in the dining room and talked in the living room area of the hotel suite.
“His (Chandrasekhar) assistant came in the room twice to speak to him, he then told me he has to go back for night prayers with his family and it will go on till late night and he will see me the next day,” she said.
Fernandes, who has acted in over 20 movies, told ED, “The next day he (Chandrasekhar) came back to the hotel and ordered some breakfast. After breakfast he dropped me to the airport. And I returned back to Mumbai in a private jet.”
Fernandes informed Chandrasekhar that she wanted her friend Suren Joshi and Shaan Muthathil also to come to Chennai.
“Suren travelled with me to Chennai again on a private jet. We were picked up from the airport by a driver and as assistant and taken to the same Hyatt hotel in Chennai. Shekhar showed up at the hotel shortly after. We sat and had lunch with Shekhar and waited for my friend Shaan to arrive,” she said.