In 2021, news about Jacqueliene Fernandez dating alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar went viral. While she denied it, he confirmed the relationship and flaunted the extravagant gifts he adorned her with. After his arrest in 2021, he sent her a love letter on her birthday. As per industry insiders, a leading streamer has taken an interest in the subject and is planning a docu-series on Chandrashekhar. A source informs, “The makers want to go to the alleged lottery scam origins to the jaw-dropping luxury gift extortion that made headlines.”

According to sources, an OTT giant has already reached out to Fernandez as they find her “insights are critical.” “She is the only star who can speak firsthand about what really went down. Her candour could make or break the storytelling.”

The actor, for her part, is said to be “weighing the opportunity,” with close friends reporting she’s “careful about how her narrative will be framed.” Behind the scenes, development is reportedly being spearheaded by a sharp research team.

“They are mapping out a narrative that’s part psychological thriller and part a societal case study. Their plan is to juxtapose Sukesh’s courtroom drama with his alleged methods like wiretapping, high-end bribes, and shadowy real estate deals.”

The makers are targeting a year-end writers’ room to nail down the structure and go on floors by mid-2026. Of course, legal teams are monitoring every step. “They are navigating complex clearances. Given the ongoing court cases, their approach must be airtight,” the source added. 

As per reports, Jacqueliene Fernandez received several luxury gifts from Sukesh Chandrashekhar, some of which she confessed to ED officials during investigations:

- A tulip and lily garden in Bali

- A private jet worth Rs 112 crore

- A Mini Cooper

- A horse for Rs 52 lakh

- Three Persian cats

- A yacht

A ctor Jacqueliene Fernandez, who is one of the accused in a Rs. 200-crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, has been allowed to travel by a Delhi court. On Saturday, special judge Shailender Malik agreed to let the actor travel to San Francisco, USA, to be a part of promotional activities for a Virginia-based company, that invited her between August 7 to 23.

While granting permission to travel abroad, the court rejected the opposition of Enforcement Directorate’s counsel Suraj Rathi, to the travel plea. Rathi also added that these promotional activities could have been done via video conferencing. To this the court said that the American embassy or visa issuing authority will examine the case of the applicant independently, and added that it is for the host company in the USA to decide whether such activities can be undertaken physically or through video conferencing.

However, the court has imposed some conditions along with the allowance to travel, including submission of an FDR worth Rs. 1 crore by the applicant as well as her travel itinerary and details of the place of stay. Advocates Aman Nandrajog, Shakti Singh and Gaurav Arora appeared for the actor, and filed an application seeking permission to travel to engage in professional services for promotion of the company’s client.

The investigation into alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar’s activities while he was lodged in Tihar jail has thrown up a number of showbiz names apart from those of actresses Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi. These include Chahatt Khanna, Nikki Tamboli, Sophia Singh and Arusha Patil, some of whom reportedly met him in jail, where he is said to have posed as a film producer.

Chahatt, who recently recorded her statement before Delhi’s Patiala House Court, has spoken exclusively to us and alleged that a web of lies and threats engulfed her after she got tricked into visiting Sukesh in jail. She also claims that she was blackmailed repeatedly, and forced to pay a ransom to save her name. “I am a victim and have suffered and I want the world to know my side of the story,” she tells us.

Chahatt says that in May 2018 she got a call to attend a school event in Delhi as a judge. “I travelled to Delhi on May 18, 2018. At Mumbai airport, I met a woman named Angel Khan, who said she would accompany me to the event. When we landed in Delhi, we took a car to go to the school. But after a while, we suddenly stopped and she said that we would have to change cars, as this one would not be allowed inside the school premises. We then moved to a grey Innova and within a few seconds, I realised we were outside the Tihar jail. When I asked her about this, she said we had to enter the school via the jail premises.”

Angel is reportedly one of the aliases of Pinky Irani, who allegedly introduced several actresses to Sukesh. She was first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in 2021 and then by the Delhi Police last year to probe her involvement in the 200 crore extortion case against Sukesh.

Chahatt says that after realising that she was in Tihar, she started yelling and asked for the car to be stopped, but the woman kept pacifying her, and before she knew it, they were inside Tihar jail. “I knew I was trapped and started panicking, thinking about my two kids, who were in Mumbai with my parents. Once we got off the car, we were taken to a room. I remember the room was full of laptops, watches and expensive luxury items. Aur duniya bhar ke branded bags thay... itne thay ki koi ek gir jaata toh sab gir jaate. There was a sofa, a portable AC, one chair, fridge... chhote se room mein sab kuch bhara hua tha,” she recalls.

In the room, Chahatt was introduced to a man who called himself Shekhar Reddy. She narrates: “He was dressed in a fancy shirt, had sprayed on a lot of perfume, and was wearing a gold chain. He introduced himself as the owner of a popular south Indian TV channel and the nephew of J Jayalalithaa. He said he had been arrested in an EVM tampering case during elections, but was being given VIP treatment in jail. He said he was a fan of mine and had watched my TV show, Bade Acche Lagte Hain, and wanted to meet me. I was frantic and told him, ‘Why would you call me here? I have left my six-month-old baby at home and have come here thinking it’s an event.’ Then, before I knew it, he went down on one knee and said he wanted to marry me. I shouted at him, saying, ‘I am married and I have two kids.’ But he said my husband was not the right man for me and that he would be a father to my kids. I got so anxious that I started crying.”

Why didn’t Chahatt raise an alarm at that point? “I didn’t know what was going to happen next. What if someone caught me inside Tihar jail, what would I say? What if they put me behind bars? Mujhe yeh prove karte karte 10 saal lag jaate ki main prisoner nahi hoon, mujhe bahar se laya gaya tha wahan. I had to somehow get out of that place and get back home; that was the only thing on my mind. There were a couple of men in civil clothes who had escorted us inside. Angel held my hand and told me to look down while walking in as there were CCTV cameras. As far as I remember, there were no police officers around. Since this was a few years ago, I don’t clearly remember things.”

Chahatt reveals that Angel sat on the man’s lap and started blowing kisses at him, saying that he was her best friend. “Around that time, she took a selfie with me, though I kept telling her that I wanted to leave.”

Chahatt remembers leaving with Angel after spending 20-25 minutes inside the jail. “We went straight to the airport, and on the way, Angel gave me around 2 lakh, referring to it as ‘shagun’ and telling me that he had really liked me. I kept quiet because I wanted to get back home. At the airport, she also took off a Versace watch that she was wearing and gave it to me, calling it a ‘friendship gift’ from her. We had to spend the night at the airport because the flight was very delayed. It took off around 7 am,” she says.

Soon after she returned to Mumbai, Chahatt claims she started getting blackmailed by two unknown people. “These two men stopped my sister-in-law on the road and told her that they had footage of me inside Tihar jail, which they would give to a TV channel if we didn’t pay them 10 lakh. I started getting calls from an unknown number when I was at my parents’ residence in Virar. The caller said he had got the footage from government officials and would give it to a TV channel. I was certain Angel was behind this and called her, but she soon blocked me. I agreed to give them 3 lakh, for which I borrowed 1 lakh from my father. They asked me to leave the money at a spot in Virar, which I did. Till today, I don’t know who the guys were,” she says.

Looking back, does she feel she should not have paid the ransom? “I was helpless. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was in Tihar jail. I was also worried about it affecting my marriage, and so I agreed to give them the money. Among other things, it did take a toll on my marriage, and my husband and I separated. Maybe I should have approached the police and lodged a complaint. But things kept happening one after the other and I just wanted to get out of it.”

After May 2018, Chahatt says that Sukesh called her two or three times from jail. “He would call me from international numbers and claim that he could call me from any number – including my husband’s! These calls lasted for a minute or so and he would inquire about my kids and ask if I needed anything. I would say, ‘Thank you so much, but I don’t need anything.’ The last time he called was in December 2018, when I told him, ‘Don’t call me; I don’t appreciate this. We’ll talk when you come out of jail.’ We never exchanged messages. A year after the ransom incident, the woman I knew as Angel unblocked me and messaged me. She said she wanted to work together, but I stayed away from her. She would message a lot, but I would barely reply.”

Chahatt says it’s only one-and-a-half years ago, when her name came up in the case and ED summoned her, that she realised the man she had met in Tihar jail was Sukesh Chandrashekhar and the woman who called herself Angel was his aide, Pinky Irani. “I have given these details to the officials of Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing and Enforcement Directorate and also to Patiala House Court. I am sure officials have gone through my phone details and verified everything.”

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday allowed Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez to travel to Dubai to attend a conference from January 27-30 in order “to fulfil her professional commitments”.

“More particularly, when it is pointed out by learned counsel for the accused that on account of her acting career, the accused/applicant has been nominated in the prestigious Oscars Awards (95th Academy Awards). In such a situation, it is all the more necessary for the sake of pride of the country that unnecessary restrictions may not be imposed unless it is required for the accused,” the court of additional sessions judge Shailender Malik stated in the order on a plea by the actress in a Rs 200-crore money laundering case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.

Fernandez features in ‘Tell It Like A Woman’, whose song ‘Applause’ is in the Oscar race in the original song category.

This court said it was “very much conscious that the case is at the crucial stage” and “involves a very high stake in the sense that there are very serious allegations made against the accused persons”. “However, that fact by itself cannot be a reason to deprive the accused at this stage from travelling abroad when she is to fulfil her professional commitments.”

Noting that Fernandez has complied with the restrictions placed by the court while travelling abroad, it said the ED’s fears that the actor would “flee away” from the judicial process can be addressed by the terms and conditions laid down by the Delhi HC in its May 30, 2022, order.

Jacqueline Fernandez has claimed that her association with jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar was one based on manipulation and deceit. “He played with my emotions and made my life hell” is what she has said in her latest statement. The actor has been embroiled in the Rs. 200-crore extortion case after she received gifts from the latter that he allegedly paid for with extorted money.

According to an India Today report, the 37-year-old added in her statement that the two started speaking after “Pinky Irani (who introduced the actor to Chandrashekhar) convinced my makeup artist that he was an important official from the Home Ministry”.

“He introduced himself as the owner of Sun TV and claimed J Jayalalithaa was his aunt. Chandrashekhar said he was a big fan, and said I should do films in south India too, and as the owner of Sun TV, they had many projects lined up,” the actor said in her statement.

Fernandez added that they would talk on phone calls and video calls at least three times a day. “He never mentioned he was calling from jail. He used to call from one corner with a curtain and a sofa in the background,” she adds, maintaining that they last spoke on call on August 8, 2021.

In a chargesheet recorded as part of the Rs. 200-crore extortion case, actor Nora Fatehi claimed that conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar wanted her to be his girlfriend. “Sukesh said he’d finance my life, family, career if I agreed to be his girlfriend,” Fatehi claimed. In return, he would take care of her financially, according to the copy of the chargesheet in news reports.

According to an India Today report, Fatehi also claimed that Pinky Irani — who reached out to her cousin with the offer — told her that Fernandez was waiting in line for Sukesh’s offer but he wanted to date Nora. “Many actresses are dying to be taken care of by Sukesh,” the actor quoted Irani’s statement.

“Initially, I did not know who Sukesh was. I neither had any personal contact nor any conversations with him,” said Fatehi, who also received a luxury car from the conman, which she returned.

The 30-year-old claimed that she got to know his conman identity only when she was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). “The only time I saw him was when the ED confronted me with him at its office,” she said.

Actor-dancer Nora Fatehi, on Monday, filed a defamation suit against actor Jacqueline Fernandez, along with 15 media houses, in connection with the Rs. 200 crore extortion case involving conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. And Fernandez and her legal team are in no mood to let it go.

“I have not got any official copies out of the courtroom yet. The court has not taken cognizance of that suit. It is only Nora, or somebody else, who has leaked the news into the media. Having said that, if Jacqueline is dragged before the court, we are ready to fight it aggressively,” Prashant Patil, Fernandez’s lawyer, tells us.

According to reports, Fatehi has filed the case over a written plea before the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002) court, where Fernandez stated that she was “falsely being implicated by the ED while celebs such as Nora Fatehi, who had also received gifts from conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, had been made witnesses”.

On Fatehi’s claim, Patil shares, “Jacqueline has not consciously given any statement, forget about Nora, about anything for that matter. During the course of arguments, whatever is said, cannot be raised to defamation and can’t be put in public domain.”

In a dramatic turn of events, Nora Fatehi filed a defamation case against fellow actress Jacqueline Fernandez on Monday, claiming that the latter dragged her in the Rs. 200 crore money laundering case involving Sukesh Chandrashekhar. Nora’s plea states that the allegations levelled against her are untrue and the claims that she received gifts from Chandrashekhar were false, and Jacqueline’s statements were defamatory and had mala fide intentions.

The petition filed by Nora before Delhi’s Patiala House Court states that Jacqueline’s written pleadings before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) appellate authority claimed that while Nora had also received gifts from Chandrashekhar, she was simply made witness in the case, whereas Jacqueline was made an accused in the matter.

AUG 2021: The ED summoned Jacqueline for the first time in connection with the case.

OCT 2021: Chandrashekhar’s lawyer claimed that Jacqueline was in a relationship with Sukesh. Jacqueline’s spokesperson said in a statement, “She is being called to testify as a witness.”

OCT 2021: Nora was summoned by ED.

DEC 6, 2021: Jacqueline offloaded from Muscat-bound flight by immigration officials at Mumbai airport.

APR 2022: The ED attached assets worth ₹7.27 crore belonging to Jacqueline.

DEC 6, 2021-AUG 2022: Jacqueline questioned as a witness in the case.

AUG 2022: ED named Jacqueline as an accused in a supplementary chargesheet in the extortion case against Chandrashekhar.

SEPT 2022: ED in its chargesheet said that Jacqueline cooked up a false story.

OCT 2022: A Delhi court extended Jacqueline’s interim bail until Nov 10.

NOV 2022: A Delhi court granted her bail on a personal bond of 2 lakh and one surety of the same amount on the condition that she would not leave the country without the court’s permission.

DEC 2022: The matter got deferred to December 20. Nora filed a defamation case against Jacqueline.

The case pertains to an FIR filed by the Delhi Police in connection with an extortion racket allegedly operated by Chandrashekhar. He allegedly extorted sums to the tune of ₹200 crore from a businessman. Between August 2021 and August 2022, Jacqueline was questioned as a witness in the case, but in August this year she was made an accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Nora is being questioned as a witness.

On Wednesday, actor Jacqueline Fernandez was questioned by the office of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police for over eight hours in connection with a Rs. 200-crore money laundering case linked to jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. And on Thursday, actor Nora Fatehi was questioned regarding the same case, as new chats of her with Chandrashekhar discussing cars emerged online.

Fernandez reached the EOW office around 11am along with her lawyer to join the investigation. According to reports, she was given a questionnaire with at least 100 questions inquiring about her relationship with Chandrashekhar and the gifts she received from him.

Mumbai-based Pinky Irani, who allegedly introduced Fernandez to Chandrashekhar, was also called, and according to ANI, Fernandez and Irani engaged in a war of words during the questioning.

While Irani accused Fernandez of accepting gifts from Chandrashekhar, despite knowing that he was behind bars on charges of cheating people of Rs. 200 crore, Fernandez accused Irani of lying. She said she had no idea about Chandrashekhar’s background. Both of them reportedly abused each other, after which police had to intervene. In February this year, the Patiala House Court granted bail to Irani, who was arrested on December 9, 2021, by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with regards to this case.

It’s not over for Fernandez, as many reports indicate that she has been asked to stay back in Delhi as she might be called again to help further the investigation.

Meanwhile, while defending herself, Fernandez questioned why her colleague Fatehi was being treated differently. One report states that when asked if she associated with Chandrashekhar for money, Fernandez insisted that she wasn’t a gold digger by revealing her fee for one film, which is Rs. 7 crores.

New Delhi: Jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar donned branded clothes and was available 24x7 on video call from inside his cell, actor Jacqueline Fernandez has claimed in a plea challenging freezing of her assets after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) named her in money-laundering cases linked to him.

In her plea before PMLA’s Adjudicating Authority in Delhi, Fernandez has claimed that she was a victim conned by Sukesh, and not an accused in the case as alleged by the ED. The actor has moved the appellant authority challenging attachment of assets worth Rs 7.12 crores by freezing her bank fixed deposits. Fernandez’s plea says the FDs have no nexus with crime and are deposits from her “own legitimate income”, much before knowing the main accused.

Fernandez said that after the initial contact was made where Chandrashekhar posed as an “important” man, most of her conversations with him took place over video call where he was seen wearing expensive clothing every time.

“He would wear a different attire every day, and it was all expensive brands. He would speak from a corner in his room, which was like a couch-setting with a curtain in the background,” she wrote to the adjudicating authority.

“He used to claim that he was working at his factory for a few months in Noida, the signal there was very bad, and this was the only corner where he would get a good signal. These calls would start in the morning and would go on till the end of the day. Chandrashekhar was accessible from morning till night. In fact, he would be available 24x7 on video call (sic),” she claimed.

For any lay person, “the jail would not have a leisurely treatment with access to video calls and expensive clothes; it would be more gruesome with small rooms, uniforms, concrete walls and no access to phone, let alone the iPhone and iPad that Chandrashekhar would always have around while speaking with the respondent”, her reply states.

It also termed as “surprising” that while other celebrities—notably Norah Fatehi—were also conned by Chandrashekhar, only Fernandez was dragged into the matter as an accused.