Noted Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was issued a show-cause notice on Monday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly violating foreign exchange rules involving an amount in the tune of Rs 2 crore.

This was informed by an ED official on Wednesday.

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Khan, who lives in Pakistan, has been served the notice in a case related to the seizure of undeclared US dollars from him at the Delhi airport on February 13, 2011, when he was going to attend a music programme from India to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

“The show-cause notice has been served to Khan for violation of foreign exchange rules,” an ED official said.

A case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has been registered by the ED on the basis of a case filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

Khan was in Delhi to perform at an Indo-Pakistan peace initiative and was to board an Emirates flight to Karachi via Dubai with his staff of 14 persons when he was detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for travelling with undeclared currency to the tune of $300,000 US dollar (around Rs 2.10 crore) along with Pakistani and Indian currency, the ED official said.

The DRI then said that Khan had not declared the amount to the immigration authorities and was unable to give a satisfactory explanation regarding the source of the money and he also did not show any relevant documents for the same.

A foreign national cannot carry more than $5,000 in cash and $5,000 in other instruments. In the event he has more cash, he has to declare it to the Customs Department say the rules.

According to the DRI sources, Khan was paid in Indian rupees and dollars for his shows in India.

Khan has been questioned a number of times by the ED.

A case under FEMA is not considered a criminal case. Even the accused is not arrested but if the charges are proven, then the agency can impose heavy fines of up to 350 of the said amount.

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the nephew of internationally celebrated singer late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, was earlier also involved in a controversy when organisers of a concert in Gurugram filed a police complaint against him in July 2010 for his failure to turn up for a show.

(With agency inputs)