Overview
- On Wednesday, June 3, a Patiala House court formally framed charges under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Jacqueline Fernandez, Sukesh Chandrashekhar and other co‑accused.
- All the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, while Fernandez withdrew an earlier application to become an approver after the Enforcement Directorate opposed that plea.
- The court recorded that prosecutors rely on about 36 pieces of evidence, including witness testimony, call detail records and chat data, and said the material indicated proceeds of crime around ₹215 crore.
- Prosecutors allege the alleged extortion of roughly ₹200 crore from complainant Aditi Singh was laundered through shell transactions and used to buy luxury gifts and assets, with investigators saying Fernandez received gifts and benefits reported at about ₹5.7–7 crore.
- The case will move to the evidence stage, with the MCOCA/extortion prosecution listed for July 14 and the ED money‑laundering prosecution for July 16, and the parallel MCOCA case against Sukesh remains active while Fernandez is not an accused in that extortion FIR.