Rahat Ali Khan denies being served notice by Indian govt in 2011 forex case

The Indian government has issued Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan a show-cause notice in connection with a case pertaining to alleged foreign exchange violation amounting to 20 million Indian rupees in 2011, The Hindu reported on Wednesday, citing officials in the Enforcement Directorate.

Speaking to Images, 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 sahab. 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 sahab has never had any direct dealings with anyone in India or elsewhere, hence, he being blamed for something like this is bizarre.

"It would have been better if the authorities had served the notice first (if any) and then made this public. We will address this if and when we get a notice, and our law firm In Delhi will look into this."

The Indian 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.