Published 15:58 IST, September 20th 2019
Adnan Sami exults: 'house seized while a Pakistani returned as Indian'
The Appellate Tribunal for the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh on singer Adnan Sami for buying eight flats in Mumbai
The Appellate Tribunal for the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh on singer Adnan Sami for buying eight flats in Mumbai in 2003 without prior permission from the Reserve Bank of India, when he was a Pakistani national. However, when the case was registered he was charged with using foreign exchange in order to pay for flats and parking spaces. However, with a thorough investigation, it was established that the properties have been bought with his hard-earned money while he was working in India and no foreign exchange was involved. Due to which, charges were dropped against the singer.
Adnan Sami's FEMA case:
But, he still has to pay a fine of Rs 40 lakhs for acquiring the properties without RBI’s permission. After he was cleared of the charge, the singer took to Twitter to exclaim that he is completely happy with paying a fine for the mistakes he committed and went on to add, "What truly matters is that while as a Pakistani, my house that was confiscated has been returned to me as the ‘Home’ of an Indian!! Yaani ek Pakistani ka makaan gaya, aur ek Indian ko uska ‘Ghar’ mila!"
Adnan Sami:
Singer Adnan Sami was born in London to a Pakistani diplomat father and his mother was from Jammu and Kashmir. The singer relocated to India in the late 1990s and took Indian nationality on January 1, 2016, after giving up his Pakistani citizenship.
READ: Adnan Sami Hammers Pakistan, Exposes The Country Saying ‘against Pak Army Which Has Provoked Wars’
On the professional front:
Filmmaker Mira Nair is collaborating with playback singer Adnan Sami for a Broadway production of her 2001 film "Monsoon Wedding". Nair is making a musical stage version of her critically acclaimed film, which centered around a dysfunctional Indian family as they prepare for their daughter's wedding. The film featured Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah, and Vasundhara Das."The movie is being recreated for the US stage audience as a lavish mainstream Broadway musical extravaganza with the lead played by the versatile singer Adnan Sami," a source close to the project said.
Updated 16:19 IST, September 20th 2019