Rs 200 cr money laundering case: After Court objection, Jacqueline withdraws plea to travel abroad

New Delhi [India], December 22 (ANI): Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez on Thursday decided to withdraw the plea to travel abroad which she had filed earlier at the Patiala court.

This comes after the court showed objection over the plea and said “You can withdraw the application and let the question of charge first be decided. Otherwise I will pass a judicial order,” the judge said.

During the brief arguments, the counsel that appeared for ED opposed her plea and argued that the proceedings in the main case are at a crucial stage and being a foreign national, if she is allowed to travel, she may not turn up.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal who appeared for Jacquline, in his statement said, "I'll not miss my dates on a single day in the court. On January 6, accuse 1 (Sukesh Chandrashekhar) will argue for his case and my (Jacqueline's) turn would come later".

Jacqueline Fernandez is one of the accused in the Rupees 200 Crore money laundering case involving Sukesh Chandrashekhar and others.

Jacqueline through a plea had sought permission to travel to her birthplace Bahrain to meet her ailing mother and claimed that her mother is going through several medical issues. She sought permission to travel to Bahrain from December 23, 2022, to January 5, 2023.

Notably, Jacqueline's plea stated that the applicant is a renowned actor in the Indian film industry having films to her credit in not only Hindi-language cinema but also regional cinema across the country. She is a citizen of Sri Lanka and has been a resident of India since 2009. She has also been an income tax payee since 2009.

ED in the case earlier submitted that the applicant is in receipt of proceeds of crime, which has partly been provisionally attached and the remaining is yet to be identified. Thus, it is averred that disposing of the proceeds of the crime yet to be attached by the applicant cannot be ruled out.

Fernandez is being investigated by the ED in Rs 200 crore extortion case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. She had earlier appeared before the probe agency for questioning in a money-laundering investigation against Sukesh Chandrashekhar and others. 

Meanwhile earlier the same Court allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to take possession of 26 cars recovered from the accused Leena Maria Paul during the investigation of a Rs 200 crore money laundering case.

Additional Sessions Judge Shailendra Malik of Patiala House Court allowed the application of the ED to take into possession the 26 cars attached from accused Leena Maria Paul's farmhouse in Chennai.

The ED has alleged in the plea that these cars were purchased with the proceeds of crime in the matter and were then attached during the case investigation. (ANI)