Jacqueline Fernandez Moves ED To Turn Approver in ₹200 Crore Sukesh Chandrashekhar Case

Jacqueline Fernandez has filed for approver status in the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering case linked to Sukesh Chandrashekhar, as the ED plans to record her statement and consider formal approver proceedings within the investigation.

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez has asked the Enforcement Directorate to accept her as an approver in the alleged money laundering case involving Sukesh Chandrashekhar. The move marks a major shift in the investigation, as Fernandez is already an accused for accepting gifts that investigators say were bought using illegal funds.

The fresh application was filed by Jacqueline Fernandez's lawyer before Special Judge Prashant Sharma during arguments on framing of charges. After a Delhi court told Fernandez that a formal request to the central agency was necessary, the actor approached the Enforcement Directorate seeking approver status in the money laundering case.

ED process and key steps in money laundering case

Under procedure in such a money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate will first record Jacqueline Fernandez's detailed statement. The agency will then decide whether to approach the court with its own application, asking that Fernandez be treated as an approver in the prosecution linked to Sukesh Chandrashekhar.

The Enforcement Directorate had already named Jacqueline Fernandez as an accused in a supplementary prosecution complaint filed on 17 August 2022 in the money laundering case. Investigators allege Fernandez held proceeds of crime through luxury items and other gifts, valued at more than ₹7 crore, which were allegedly funded by Chandrashekhar.

Background on Sukesh Chandrashekhar and 200-crore money laundering case

Sukesh Chandrashekhar is at the centre of a ₹200-crore money laundering case and also faces dozens of separate fraud complaints. Jacqueline Fernandez has been booked in the same money laundering case for accepting expensive gifts that the Enforcement Directorate claims were purchased using criminal proceeds linked to Chandrashekhar's alleged schemes.

The legal battle intensified in September when the Supreme Court rejected Jacqueline Fernandez's request to quash the money laundering case against the actor. Before the current Enforcement Directorate application, Fernandez had already informed a Delhi court of the wish to become an approver, prompting directions to approach the agency formally.

Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is currently lodged in jail, has repeatedly described himself as Jacqueline Fernandez's boyfriend. From prison, Chandrashekhar has written several emotional letters addressed to the actor, maintaining that relationship claim even as the money laundering case and related fraud investigations progressed.

In court, Jacqueline Fernandez has stated that Sukesh Chandrashekhar misled the actor by presenting an image of a genuine businessman. In February 2024, Fernandez filed a harassment complaint accusing Chandrashekhar of attempting to harm the actor's public image, but that complaint in the context of the money laundering case was later withdrawn.