Actor Nora Fatehi again appears before ED in PMLA case against Sukesh Chandrashekhar
New Delhi, Dec 2: Actor Nora Fatehi appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here on Friday for a fresh recording of her statement in connection with an ongoing money-laundering probe against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and his associates, official sources said.
Fatehi, 30, has been questioned by the federal agency in the case a few times in the past. The Canadian-born artiste came to India about seven to eight years ago to work in the Hindi film industry.
Sources said the actor, known for her dance numbers in Bollywood films, will be questioned about some more issues related to Chandrashekhar. Her statement is being recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
She is understood to be being questioned on some new facts that have emerged in the case.
The ED, in its earlier charge sheets filed in this case, had named actor Jacqueline Fernandez as an accused while Fatehi's statement was included in the same prosecution complaint.
In a statement, Fatehi had told the agency that Chandrashekar's wife Leena Maria Paul (Leena Paulose) had invited her to a charity event at a five-star hotel in Chennai in December 2020 and was offered a new iPhone, a Gucci bag and a BMW car.
"I had received the bag and phone on the spot in front of everyone but the procedure to gift the car was done after the event," she had told the ED.
Fatehi added the car was given to her brother-in-law who sold it in February 2021 due to "some financial issues."
"I did not receive anything else besides the items mentioned above (Gucci bag and mobile phone). Also, the BMW was not given to me, it was given to Bobby (cousin's husband) instead," Fatehi told the agency.
Asked if she purchased any bag from a Mumbai mall, the payment for which was "arranged" by Chandrashekhar, the dancer denied the charge and said in her statement: "No HELL No."
The agency has alleged that Chandrashekhar, 32, used illegal money to purchase gifts for Fernandez which he had extorted by cheating high-profile people including former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh's wife Aditi Singh to the tune of about Rs 200 crore.
Chandrashekhar and his wife Paul were arrested by the ED.
The ED had said 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 Rs 200 crore.
"Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud. He has been part of the crime world since the age of 17. He has multiple FIRs against him...," the ED had said.
Despite being in jail, it said, Chandrashekhar "did not stop conning" people.
"He (using a cellphone procured illegally in prison) with the help of technology made spoofed 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 persons, he claimed to be a government officer offering to help people for a price," the ED had claimed.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13; body of last missing person recovered
Jabalpur (PTI): The bodies of a five-year-old boy and his uncle were recovered from Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district on Sunday morning, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy to 13, police said.
The boat, around 20 years old and operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening.
"The bodies of Mayuram (5) and his uncle Kamraj (around 50), an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, were found floating and were fished out of the dam," Bargi Sub Divisional Officer of Police Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI over the phone.
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All 13 missing persons identified have now been accounted for, he said, adding the bodies were sent to a government hospital for postmortem.
Teams comprising around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, along with personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, were involved in the search operation, the police said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the vessel, 28 were rescued after the incident, according to the police.
The CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat, though the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far, they said.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members. It also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
