Khan made Rs. 8 billion in the last 12 years: Reports
The situations continue getting worse for Rahat Fateh Ali Khan as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated a probe into his alleged money-laundering and tax evasion.
The investigation comes four days after the global star faced general criticism for a viral video that shared him physically assaulting an employee.
The FIA action followed the disclosures that Rahat Fateh Ali Khan allegedly amassed close to Rs. Eight billion from domestic and international concerts over the past decade. According to the sources within the FIA, it has asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to provide a record of all of the singer’s assets with information about her income taxes paid in this period.
This recent investigation is not the first time that Rahat Fateh Ali Khan faced the magnifying glasses of income tax authorities. The FBR penalized the artist, imposing huge sums as tax liability, and his bank accounts were frozen in March 2017 on charges of not paying taxes.
The FIA was already inquiring into the income from Khan’s foreign concerts, and following a legal notice over his estimated annual income for 2022 received earlier, he paid Rs 300,00 tax on it.
The momentum gained by the current inquiry grew after Salman Ahmed, Rahat’s former international promoter, uncovered that the music artist had made close to Rs. Earned more than 8 billion dollars in 12 years of running it. Salman Ahmed says he holds the evidence for Rahat’s substantial international tours and concert revenues in Pakistan, which are more than $22 million and above Rs.
In turn, Salman Ahmed responded that he was not at all happy with the way Rahat Fateh Ali Khan made allegations against his management company for doing something wrong, but he assured that he had enough documents that could be provided to the FBR and the FIA.
He objected to the assertions made by Rahat on this point, pointing out that, not so long ago, the maestro had approached him to conclude tours for next year, and it was through a very big business that they did together during the past 12 years.
At a press conference organized in Lahore, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan claimed he was no longer going to be handled by Salman Ahmed’s management and that from now on, family members would deal with his affairs. He also confessed arrangements to integrate his Pakistan firm, RFAK, into NRK, run by his wife, Nida Rahat, and other family members.
The FIA will track Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s accounts to verify the reliability of reported income and tax payments made by him. However, as the inquiry proceeds, people wait for the details to come from the court.