Jacqueline Fernandez drops approver plea after ED says she was 'significant beneficiary' in Sukesh's PMLA case

NEW DELHI: Actress Jacqueline Fernandez withdrew her application seeking to turn approver in the Rs 200-crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar on Tuesday, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) strongly opposed her plea before a Delhi Court, as per a report by ANI news agency.Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma of Delhi’s Patiala House Court disposed of the application as withdrawn after Jacqueline’s counsel, advocate Ashish Batra, informed the court that the actor no longer wished to pursue the plea.The development came a day after the ED filed their reply opposing Jacqueline’s request to become an approver in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).The agency argued that there was sufficient evidence showing that the actor was not merely a bystander, but a “significant beneficiary” of proceeds of crime allegedly generated by Sukesh Chandrasekhar.According to the ED, Jacqueline remained in “regular and sustained contact” with Chandrasekhar even after becoming aware of his criminal background.The agency further alleged that Sukesh arranged expensive gifts, luxury items and other financial benefits for the actor using proceeds of crime linked to the money laundering case.The ED also submitted that granting her approver status would amount to a “miscarriage of justice” and weaken the seriousness of the allegations against her, adding that the power to make an accused an approver rests with the investigating agency and maintained that Jacqueline’s application amounted to an abuse of the legal process, according to the ANI news agency report.The agency accused the actor of withholding material facts and giving evasive and contradictory statements during multiple rounds of questioning conducted under Section 50 of the PMLA between 2021 and 2022. The ED claimed she initially concealed information regarding costly gifts, cash transactions, bank transfers and her association with alleged intermediary Pinky Irani.The agency also rejected Jacqueline’s claim that she was an “unwitting victim”, stating that evidence on record indicated her conscious involvement and continued affiliation with Chandrasekhar despite knowledge of his alleged criminal activities.The money laundering case is presently at the stage of arguments on charge before the Patiala House Court.Jacqueline, who has been arrayed as an accused in the ED’s supplementary chargesheet, had earlier approached the Delhi high court seeking quashing of the ECIR and proceedings against her, but her plea was dismissed. Her subsequent challenge before the Supreme Court was also rejected in 2025.