Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate may make actor Nora Fatehi a witness against fraudster Sukesh Chandrasekhar in the Rs 200 crore money laundering case it is investigating against him and his actress wife Leena Maria Paul. Fatehi had received expensive gifts from Sukesh and Leena.

Meanwhile, ED officials have been discussing actor Jacqueline Fernandez’s role in the case and have rejected her request to cancel the look out circular (LoC) issued against her. Earlier in the month, authorities had prevented Jacqueline from flying to Dubai for a show, based on ED’s LoC.

A former deputy legal advisor of ED and independent practising lawyer Satya Prakash Singh said, “If a person receives proceeds of crime unknowingly, admits and discharges the burden of proof in statements to ED, the investigator is most likely to cite such a person as a witness against the key accused in the case. However, the proceeds in the hands of such a person shall come within Section 5 of the PMLA and is most likely to be provisionally attached.”

He added, “To make someone accused in the case, the investigator needs to establish he or she received proceeds of crime with prior knowledge of the offence and actively participated in any activity or process of money laundering. The element of ‘mens rea’ kicks in at this stage.” The ED claimed Nora Fatehi reportedly received a BMW from Sukesh, and Leena gifted her a Gucci bag and an iPhone. Sukesh had reportedly gifted Jacqueine expensive gifts, including a horse and a Persian cat.

The ED had mentioned names of both actresses in a chargesheet it filed against Sukesh before a court in Delhi recently, where it had also accused Leena of money laundering. The ED had recorded statements of Nora Fatehi and Jacqueline. In October, Nora’s spokesperson issued a statement stating, “Nora Fatehi has been the victim around the case and being a witness, she is co-operating.”

Conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar had extorted hundreds of crores from businessmen and others. He extorted Rs 215 crore from the wife of Ranbaxy ex-promoter Lab Shivinder Singh, while he was in jail.