Actor Leena Maria Paul, Chandrasekhar sent to ED custody in PMLA case
   Date :10-Oct-2021

Actor Leena Maria Paul_1&
 
 
NEW DELHI :
 
A DELHI court on Saturday sent actor Leena Maria Paul and her boyfriend Sukesh Chandrasekhar to Enforcement Directorate’s custody for three days in a money-laundering case involving extortion of Rs 200 crore from a businessman’s wife here. The couple allegedly duped former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh. Earlier in the day, the ED placed Chandrashekar and Paul, already in jail after being arrested by the Delhi Police on charges of cheating people and committing fraud, under arrest under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. In its application in the court, the Enforcement Directorate’s special public prosecutor Atul Tripathi claimed that 14-day custodial interrogation of the accused was essential to determine the role of other people who facilitated money laundering, how and by whom proceeds of crime were placed, layered and integrated into the system. The ED claimed that the accused were deliberately withholding evidence, and their custodial interrogation was essential to establish a money trail of proceeds of the crime.
 
They were to be confronted with the evidence on record and the voluminous documents as well as various related persons, which would enable the probe agency to ascertain and identify the funds laundered, it said. “Their custodial interrogation is, therefore, required for an effective investigation of the case to bring the instant case to a logical conclusion,” the probe agency stated. Special Judge Anil Antil passed the order remanding the couple to three days in ED custody and said, “From the record, it is apparent that accused Chandrashekar and Paul are the kingpins of the alleged crime committed by them.”