Actress Leena Maria Paul, wife Sukesh Chandrasekhar taken into custody in money laundering case: The Tribune India

New Delhi, October 9

A Delhi court on Saturday sent actor Leena Maria Paul and her boyfriend Sukesh Chandrasekhar to the custody of the Directorate of Law Enforcement for three days in a money laundering case involving the extortion of Rs 200 crore to a businessman’s wife here.

The couple are said to have duped the wife of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh, Aditi Singh.

Earlier today, the ED placed Chandrashekar and Paul, already in prison after being arrested by Delhi police for cheating and fraud, under arrest under the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act. ‘money.

In his application to the court, the special prosecutor of the Directorate of Execution, Atul Tripathi, claimed that a 14-day interrogation of the accused was essential to determine the role of others who facilitated the money laundering. money, how and by whom the proceeds of crime were placed, stratified and brought into the system.

The ED claimed that the defendants were deliberately withholding evidence and that their interrogation in custody was essential in establishing a trace of the proceeds of crime.

They were to be confronted with the recorded evidence and voluminous documents as well as various related persons, which would allow the investigative agency to verify and identify laundered funds, he said.

“Their interrogation in detention is therefore necessary for an effective investigation of the case in order to bring the present case to a logical conclusion,” the investigative agency said.

Special Judge Anil Antil issued the order to return the couple to three days of emergency detention and said: “From the record it is evident that the defendants Chandrashekar and Paul are the mainstays of the alleged crime committed. by them.”

“Therefore, appreciating the facts and circumstances of the case, in my opinion, I find that a case of referral of the accused Sukesh Chandrashekar and Leena Maria Paul to emergency detention is established,” said the judge. .

The case was brought on the basis of an FIR filed by the Economic Crimes Wing of the Delhi Police Force over Aditi Singh’s complaint that a man posing as a senior Law Ministry official in June of last year had offered to help secure bail for her husband, who was in jail. at that time, in exchange for money.

Shivinder Singh was arrested for alleged embezzlement at Religare Finvest Ltd in 2019.

Police said Chandrasekhar, accused in 21 cases, including the Election Commission corruption case, called Aditi Singh. He was arrested in August.

At the time of the incident, Chandrasekhar was being held in Rohini Prison in Delhi and engaged in extortion racketeering behind bars. Police then arrested his two associates, who were carrying out operations for him from outside the prison, and two senior officials from Rohini prison for assisting Chandrasekhar.

During the investigation, police discovered that a bank manager in Connaught Place and his two associates were involved in questionable transactions for the movement of funds and the arrangement of cash. The three were arrested.

In August, the ED raided some of the premises in Chandrashekhar and seized a bungalow facing the sea in Chennai, Rs 82.5 lakh in cash and more than a dozen luxury cars.

He had claimed that Chandrashekhar was a “known crook” and that he was being questioned by Delhi police in a case of alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and extortion to the tune of around Rs 200 crore.

“Chandrasekhar is the mastermind of this fraud. He has been part of the crime scene since the age of 17. He has several FIRs against him and is currently being held at Rohini Prison (in connection with the Delhi Police case), ”said the Director General.

She had also recorded the statement of the actress Jacqueline Fernandez in this case. PTI