WEB DESK
Noted Pakistan singer Rahat Ali Khan’s office has denied the report that Indian government has issued him a show-cause notice in connection with a case pertaining to alleged foreign exchange violation amounting to Rs 20 million in 2011.
Rahat’s manager Aamir Hasan said they have “no information of this show cause notice as of yet”.
The singer’s management has also released a press release stating: “It comes as a surprise that a notice is being served to Khan Sb. Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s management company has no idea about this. Interestingly our lawyers in India are also known to the relevant authorities and as of now, they have not received any notice either.
“Khan sb has never had any direct dealings with anyone in India or elsewhere hence him being blamed for something like this is bizarre.
“It would have been better if the authorities would have served the notice first if any and then made this publicised. We will address if and when we get any notices. Our law firm In Delhi will look into this if there is any notice.”
According to reports in New Delhi, the Directorate of Enforcement has given Khan 45 days to respond to the notice, which was issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after the probe into the case was recently concluded.
The ED had initiated an investigation against Khan and his associates in 2014 after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DIR) in 2011 intercepted the singer and his manager Marrouf Ali Khan at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, allegedly carrying $124,000 and other forex instruments.
The ED then took over the probe from the DRI after it obtained the relevant records from the Indian central back.
Khan has maintained that he has not committed any wrongdoing, and that the large amount of cash he and his associates were carrying was because they were travelling in a group.