Rahat Ali Khan questioned over undeclared foreign currency

New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) Noted Pakistani singer Rahat
Fateh Ali Khan was extensively questioned by revenue
intelligence officials regarding the over Rs one lakh USD
recovered from his possession.
The singer was detained at the IGI airport here
yesterday by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)
officials after he and two of his troupe members were caught
allegedly carrying 1.24 lakh USD (about Rs 60 lakh) in
undeclared foreign currency.
Sources said Rahat was then taken to the DRI office
here and questioned at length.
Rahat(37) and his entire troupe, numbering around 16,
including his manager Maroof and event manager were detained.
The troupe was on in its way to Lahore via Dubai by an
Emirates flight.
A nephew of Pakistani singing legend Ustad Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan, Rahat is a top Bollywood playback singer and
has several hit numbers to his credit. He won the Filmfare
Award for Best Male Playback Singer this year for 'Dil To
BachchaHai Ji' from the movie 'Ishqiya'.
"The DRI officers found altogether 1,24,000 USD which
is equivalent to about Rs 60 lakhs. 24,000 USD were found
from the baggage carried by Rahat while the remaining 50,000
USD each were found from the baggage of two troupe members,"
Central Board of Excise and Customs Chairman S Dutt Majumdar
had said.
The recovered foreign currency included USD 10,000
and USD 8,600 in demand drafts, sources had said.
Khan was intercepted by DRI personnel around 4 PM
acting on some prior information, the sources said.
As per norms, a foreign national cannot carry beyond
USD 5,000 in cash and 5,000 USD in other instruments.
The person has to declare the amount if he is carrying
more than this to the Customs Department.
According to sources, the payments by an event manager
to Rahat was made in Indian currency and US dollars and these
people were allegedly found converting the dollars to Indian
rupees "through unauthorised channels".