Washington: The US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) extra scrutiny of megastar Shah Rukh Khan was triggered by Bollywood's showbiz having come under the scanner of law enforcement authorities and intelligence agencies for dodgy financial transactions and alleged underworld links.
Khan was questioned closely by CBP agents on his arrival at Newark's Liberty International Airport last week with emphasis on ascertaining his local US contacts and engagements. It transpires that Khan was visiting the US primarily for Bollywood shows in Chicago and Houston promoted by brothers, Farhath Hussain and Altaf Hussain, with other local promoters, some of whom are on the radar of authorities in the UK, US and India.
Although there was no red flag against SRK's name itself, it was his local contacts which triggered the alert, according to sources who didn't want to be named. The situation was compounded by the non-arrival of his baggage from London. US intelligence agencies have long been leery of a possible terrorist attack by Islamist extremists from a city dubbed Londonistan, particularly since British passport holders do not need a visa to enter the United States.
Farhath Hussain is a Londonbased businessman who modestly describes himself as the "world's No. 1 promoter of Bollywood shows''. His brother Altaf Hussain is a Chicago-based businessman in the gas station industry who founded the Lake County South Asian Entertainment Inc. to tap into the Bollywood showbiz market in US after the eclipse of Vijay Taneja, a former Indian partner who founded a company called Elite Entertainment.
Taneja was convicted in a mortgage fraud last year and sentenced to seven years in the clink, allowing brothers Hussain to capture US territory.
CONTACT TRACING
• Main promoters of SRK's US shows were brothers, Farhath and Altaf Hussain
• Altaf shares name with the leader of Pakistan's MQM party. This may have caused confusion
• Some local promoters of US shows said to be on radar of UK, US, India authorities
• No red flag against SRK's name, but his local contacts seem to have triggered off the alert at the airport
• Situation aggravated by delayed arrival of SRK's baggage from London 'SRK treated with respect'
Washington: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's detention at Newark's Liberty International Airport was less to do with his credentials or Asian identity and more to do with his US show organizers, who are possibly under the authorities' observation.
Chicago-based Altaf Hussain, who along with his brother Farhath organized the SRK nite last week, bears the same name as the London-based leader of Pakistan's Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party, another possible trigger for the CBP red flag. That Altaf Hussain, a key player in Pakistani politics who is frequently accused of sectarian violence (most notably by Imran Khan), was a cab driver in Chicago before he eventually returned to Pakistan to found MQM to represent Mohajir interests.
US officials declined to go into the details of the Shah Rukh episode, citing law enforcement sensitivities. "A lot of stuff we discuss with passengers,we can't reveal because of privacy rules,'' CBP spokesman Elmer Camacho told TOI, maintaining the actor was treated with due professional courtesy and the process had not taken two hours as claimed.
Comacho also pointed out the actor himself had reeled back from some of the initial comments and acknowledged that the CBP was following a laid-down procedure. Phone numbers listed for brothers Hussain and other promoters of the 'South Asia Carnival' went to mailboxes which were full. Messages left to their associate Monty Syed were not returned.
Source: TimesofIndia
Khan was questioned closely by CBP agents on his arrival at Newark's Liberty International Airport last week with emphasis on ascertaining his local US contacts and engagements. It transpires that Khan was visiting the US primarily for Bollywood shows in Chicago and Houston promoted by brothers, Farhath Hussain and Altaf Hussain, with other local promoters, some of whom are on the radar of authorities in the UK, US and India.
Although there was no red flag against SRK's name itself, it was his local contacts which triggered the alert, according to sources who didn't want to be named. The situation was compounded by the non-arrival of his baggage from London. US intelligence agencies have long been leery of a possible terrorist attack by Islamist extremists from a city dubbed Londonistan, particularly since British passport holders do not need a visa to enter the United States.
Farhath Hussain is a Londonbased businessman who modestly describes himself as the "world's No. 1 promoter of Bollywood shows''. His brother Altaf Hussain is a Chicago-based businessman in the gas station industry who founded the Lake County South Asian Entertainment Inc. to tap into the Bollywood showbiz market in US after the eclipse of Vijay Taneja, a former Indian partner who founded a company called Elite Entertainment.
Taneja was convicted in a mortgage fraud last year and sentenced to seven years in the clink, allowing brothers Hussain to capture US territory.
CONTACT TRACING
• Main promoters of SRK's US shows were brothers, Farhath and Altaf Hussain
• Altaf shares name with the leader of Pakistan's MQM party. This may have caused confusion
• Some local promoters of US shows said to be on radar of UK, US, India authorities
• No red flag against SRK's name, but his local contacts seem to have triggered off the alert at the airport
• Situation aggravated by delayed arrival of SRK's baggage from London 'SRK treated with respect'
Washington: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's detention at Newark's Liberty International Airport was less to do with his credentials or Asian identity and more to do with his US show organizers, who are possibly under the authorities' observation.
Chicago-based Altaf Hussain, who along with his brother Farhath organized the SRK nite last week, bears the same name as the London-based leader of Pakistan's Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party, another possible trigger for the CBP red flag. That Altaf Hussain, a key player in Pakistani politics who is frequently accused of sectarian violence (most notably by Imran Khan), was a cab driver in Chicago before he eventually returned to Pakistan to found MQM to represent Mohajir interests.
US officials declined to go into the details of the Shah Rukh episode, citing law enforcement sensitivities. "A lot of stuff we discuss with passengers,we can't reveal because of privacy rules,'' CBP spokesman Elmer Camacho told TOI, maintaining the actor was treated with due professional courtesy and the process had not taken two hours as claimed.
Comacho also pointed out the actor himself had reeled back from some of the initial comments and acknowledged that the CBP was following a laid-down procedure. Phone numbers listed for brothers Hussain and other promoters of the 'South Asia Carnival' went to mailboxes which were full. Messages left to their associate Monty Syed were not returned.
Source: TimesofIndia
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