FEMA violation case against singer Adnan Sami

The Enforcement Directorate has confiscated eight flats and five car parking spaces of singer Adnan Sami in a high rise building in Mumbai and slapped a Rs 20 lakh fine on him for acquiring assets without permission of Reserve Bank of India as he was a Pakistani national. The properties, located in Oberoi Sky Garden Housing Society in posh Lokhandwala complex in suburban Andheri, were allegedly acquired by Sami in 2003 in violation of Foreign Exchange Management (acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India) Regulations, 2000. Under these regulations, any person, who is a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanisthan, China, Iran, Nepal or Bhutan cannot purchase or transfer any kind of immovable property in India without taking permission of RBI. The properties were confiscated following an order passed by Foreign Exchange Management Act adjudication authority.


Sami had purchased these properties in 2003 for Rs 2.53 crore. In 2008, he gifted five flats and three parking slots to his wife Sabah Galadari, a UAE national. Later, his relations with Sabah turned soar and she filed a divorce case against him. Sabah claimed that the flats gifted by Sami now belonged to her, although he disputed her plea in the court which declared their marriage null and void.

ED said that Sami had not taken approval of RBI to buy these properties and after acquiring them when he applied for the permission, the RBI had rejected his plea. ED claimed that while taking loans to buy properties, he had misled banks by declaring that he was an Indian national.

Sami had taken a stand before the FEMA adjudication authority that RBI had powers to grant ex-post-facto permission to acquire the properties and such an application made by him is pending before the apex court. He urged that till RBI decides his application, the authorities should not pass any order but his plea was rejected. The singer pleaded that he had taken loans from Axis bank to buy these properties and there was no question of foreign exchange violation and hence FEMA rules were not violated. He also told the FEMA adjudication forum that he had applied for Indian citizenship and his application was pending before authorities. The singer pleaded that he had got a PAN card and was paying income tax in India since last ten years. His mother was from Jammu and he had roots in India.

ED confiscated the flats saying purchase of all the properties as well as transfer of five flats and three parking slots to Sabah were illegal and violated FEMA laws.

Adnan Sami has a right to appeal before the appellate forum of FEMA i.e. appellate Tribunal foreign Exchange (ATFE) New Delhi.