ED issues FEMA show cause notice to Pak singer in 2011 case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a show cause notice against Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in connection with an alleged foreign exchange violation case against him, officials said Wednesday.

They said the notice for violation of forex funds to the tune of Rs 2 crore has been issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), after the probe in the case was completed recently.

They added Khan, who is popular for his renditions in India and Pakistan, has been asked to reply to the notice within 45 days.

The case pertains to the probe agency initiating a FEMA investigation against him and his associates in 2014 after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in 2011, intercepted Khan and his manager, Marrouf Ali Khan, at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here for allegedly carrying an undeclared amount of USD 1.24 lakh and some other instruments in foreign currency.

The ED, which is the central agency to probe such forex contraventions under the FEMA, took over the case after this episode. It had initiated the step after obtaining records of the said cash from the RBI.

The singer, who has been grilled by the ED in this case in the past, had said he had done nothing wrong and they were carrying the large amount of cash because they were travelling in a group and the act was inadvertent.

His songs are popular chartbusters in Hindi movies and also in Pakistan.