New Delhi: Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, whose popular numbers such as Jiya Dhadak Dhadak and Afreeb Afreen won him countless followers in India, has been accused of smuggling illegal foreign currency into India for three years.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is currently investigating the case, has issued Khan a notice and has sought his response regarding Rs 2.61 crore under scanner.
If dissatisfied with his response, the ED can slap Khan with a 300 per cent penalty. In case of its non-payment, a lookout notice is likely to be issued against the singer and he would be forbidden to perform anywhere in India. Khan has, however, refuted reports of having received any notice in a statement.
According to ABP News, Khan had got US dollars worth Rs 2.42 crore through illegal means of which he reportedly smuggled US Dollar Rs 1.6 crore into India.
In 2011 also he was found with undocumented US dollar worth Rs 89.1 lakh at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
A native of Pakistan’s Faisalabad, Khan catapulted to fame in India after his super-hit song Jiya Dhadak Dhadak in Kunal Kemmu’s 2005 film Kalyug. Since then he has sung several popular tracks for blockbuster films, including Tere Mast Mast Do Nain (Dabangg), Teri Ore (Singh Is Kinng), Sajda (My Name Is Khan), Teri Meri (Bodyguard) and Jag Jhoomeya (Sultan).
The agency further said, some Indians have also been charged under the same notice “for their involvement in supplying foreign currency unauthorisedly”. It said the probe into the case revealed “Khan had engaged late Chitresh Shrivastava as global event manager, who used to collect payments on his behalf for his shows in India”.
“Major part of these payments was received in cash. These cash was illegally converted into US dollars through unauthorised sources by Shrivastava and then handed over to Khan,” it added.
