News
Jacqueline appears before Indian Enforcement Directorate to give evidence in money laundering case
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN
Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, October 20: Sri Lanka-born Bollywood star Jacqueline Fernandez appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in New Delhi on Wednesday for questioning in connection with an over INR2-billion money laundering case filed against alleged conman Suresh Chandrashekar, officials said.
The actor deposed before the federal agency around 3:30 pm after skipping its summons four times earlier because she was professionally busy shooting for a film called Ram Setu in Ooty, also known as Udhagamandalam, in Tamil Nadu..
Ms Fernandez, 36, has once appeared before the federal agency in August, and recorded her statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the same case.
It is understood that the agency wants to confront her with the main accused in the case Chandrashekhar and his actor wife Leena Maria Paul, and also record her statement again.
The agency, they said, wants to understand some trail of funds and transactions that are allegedly linked to Ms. Fernandez in this case.
Actor and dancer Nora Fatehi, 29, recorded her statement with the ED last week in this case.
Ms Fatehi’s representative had said that she has been the victim in the case and being a witness, she is cooperating and helping the officers in the investigation.
Chandrashekhar and Paul were recently arrested by the ED while they were already lodged in a local jail after they were taken into custody by the Delhi Police on charges of cheating some people, including some high-profile individuals like former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh.
In August, the ED had raided some of Chandrashekar’s premises and seized a sea-facing bungalow in Chennai, INR8.25 million cash and over a dozen luxury cars.
It had claimed in a statement that Chandrashekhar is a “known conman” and is being probed by the Delhi Police in a case of alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and extortion to the tune of about two billion rupees.
“Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud. He has been part of the crime world since the age of 17. He has multiple FIRs (First Information Reports) against him and is presently lodged in Rohini jail here (in connection with the Delhi Police case),” the ED had said.
Despite being in the jail, it said, Chandrashekhar “did not stop conning” people, the ED said.
“He (with a cellphone procured illegally in prison) with the help of technology, made spoof calls to dupe people as the numbers displayed on the called party’s phone number belonged to senior government officers. While speaking (from prison) to these people, he claimed to be a government officer offering to help people for a price,” the ED had claimed.
The situation report issued by the Disaster Management Centre at 1800hrs today (5th December) confirms that 607 persons have died due to the adverse weather conditions while the number of missing persons has reduced to 214.
The number of persons affected topped the 2 million mark (2,082,195).
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) formally took delivery of the EX- United States Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC DECISIVE, provided by the United States to SLN, at a ceremony held at the United
States Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore on 02 Dec 25. The event was also attended by the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda.
The ship formally joined the SLN fleet on 02 December under the pennant number P 628 and the main mast of the ship will fly the National Flag effective from that date.
Aiming to strengthen and develop partnerships to overcome common challenges in the maritime domain, the U.S. Coast Guard has previously provided 03 ships to SLN and they are currently patrolling island waters under the names of ‘Samudura’ (P 621), ‘Gajabahu’(P 626), and ‘Vijayabahu’ (P 627).
As an extension of partnership ties that bring value to each other’s services, Ex-USCGC DECISIVE was transferred as the fourth ship to be handed to SLN.
Ex-USCGC DECISIVE, a ‘B-Type Reliance Class 210-foot Cutter’, measures 64m in length, and having endurance of 6000 NM at cruising speed. Further, she has been designed for a
crew of 100 and is equipped with weapons and machinery.
The ship which was used by the U.S. Coast Guard has rendered exceptional service during her tenure by curbing illegal activities, including smuggling of narcotics in U.S. waters.
Sri Lanka inherits an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that is seven times larger than the landmass. In such a backdrop, the Navy is determined to deploy this vessel in wide-ranging
operations that include the conservation of marine resources in the region and the search and rescue of naval and fishing communities in distress. Thereby, the Navy will be able to utilize
this vessel efficiently in the future to achieve the national aspiration, while ensuring safe and secure seas for all economic affairs.
The formal handing over – taking over ceremony was also distinguished by the presence of the Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer and Director of Domain & Integration Services U.S. Coast
Guard, James L. Knight, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for South and Southeast Asia, Dr. Andrew Byers, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Commanding Officer designate of P 628, Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya as well as a group of officials from the Embassy of Sri Lanka in United States and the State Department
of the United State
The situation report issued by the Disaster Management Center at 0600hrs today [5th December] confirms that 486 persons have died and another 341 persons are missing after the devastating weather conditions in the past week.
171,778 persons have been displaced and have taken refuge at 1,231 safety centers established by the government.
Death toll rises to 607, missing persons reduce to 214 at 1800hrs today (5)
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486 dead, 341 missing, 171,778 displaced as at 0600hrs today [05]
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