Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez submitted a plea seeking the quashing of the ECIR (FIR) and additional chargesheet issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving suspected conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. The ED denied the appeal, stating that it was not maintainable.

What did the Enforcement Directorate say?

In its response, the ED clarified that the investigation it is carrying out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 is not the same as the police inquiry, which is focused on the commission of scheduled offenses. Because money laundering is a separate kind of crime, the accused in this case will very certainly be additional to, or different from, the accused in the underlying offense.

Plea argued that the petitioner's selection as a witness for the predicate offense by the predicate agency does not automatically imply that she has not also committed the separate and different offense of money laundering.

The Delhi High Court requested that ED submit a response to Jacqueline Fernandez's appeal recently. Earlier, the ED had objected to Jacqueline's plea, arguing that despite being aware of Sukesh's criminal past, she continued to appreciate his gifts.

What was Jacqueline Fernandez's plea?

Jacqueline claimed in the petition that the Directorate of Enforcement's evidence would demonstrate that the petitioner was an innocent target of Sukesh Chandrashekhar's deliberate attack. There is not the slightest hint that she assisted him in the process of laundering his alleged illicit earnings. Because of this, she is immune from prosecution for the offenses listed in Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002.

In addition, Jacqueline claimed that the arraignment of the petitioner as an accused in the contested case was a biased move by the Directorate of Enforcement. Even though it is a documented fact that Nora Fatehi gave Sukesh Chandrashekhar instructions for her family member to acquire a BMW car, the Directorate of Enforcement has given her the runaround. It is significant to highlight that the Directorate of Enforcement has reported Nora Fatehi's gift from Sukesh Chandrashekhar under the category of "Dissipation of proceeds of crime."

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