The Times of India reports that Shahrukh Khan was questioned in an effort to obtain information regarding his local contacts and not because of his name, as initially stated. Khan was brought to the U.S. for events in Chicago and Houston by local promoters, Farhath Hussain and Altaf Hussain .
These two brothers have been on the radar in the U.K., U.S. and India for alleged underworld links and dodgy financial transactions.
The Hussain brothers are both businessmen. Farhath Hussain is based in London while Altaf lives in Chicago. The two claim to be the "world's number one promoter of Bollywood shows, a showbiz impresario extraordinaire." They have taken over the Bollywood showbiz market in the U.S. since the imprisonment of international promoter Vijay Taneja.
According to sources, Farhath Hussain and Vijay Taneja have divvied up Bollywood shows in Europe and the U.S. for several years. Both have promoted shows featuring Shahrukh Khan and a number of other Bollywood stars. Taneja was convicted in a massive mortgage fraud in the Washington D.C. area last year and sentenced to seven years in prison. Since then the Hussain brothers have taken over Bollywood shows in the States.
U.S. officials did not go into specifics about the Shahrukh Khan episode. "A lot of stuff we discuss with passengers we can't reveal because of privacy rules," CBP spokesman Elmer Camacho remarked. Camacho also mentioned that the process did not take two hours as claimed and SRK was treated professionally throughout the process.
Coincidentally, Chicago-based Altaf Hussain has the same name as the London-based leader of Pakistan's Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party. This may be another reason for the CBP red flag. Altaf Hussain( the man that the local promoter was mistaken for) used to be involved in Pakistani politics and frequently accused of sectarian violence (most notably by Imran Khan). He worked as a cab-driver in Chicago before eventually returning to Pakistan to found MQM and represent Mohajir interests.
Well, if the superstar's name didn't cause the stir, then many around the world will feel much better!
These two brothers have been on the radar in the U.K., U.S. and India for alleged underworld links and dodgy financial transactions.
The Hussain brothers are both businessmen. Farhath Hussain is based in London while Altaf lives in Chicago. The two claim to be the "world's number one promoter of Bollywood shows, a showbiz impresario extraordinaire." They have taken over the Bollywood showbiz market in the U.S. since the imprisonment of international promoter Vijay Taneja.
According to sources, Farhath Hussain and Vijay Taneja have divvied up Bollywood shows in Europe and the U.S. for several years. Both have promoted shows featuring Shahrukh Khan and a number of other Bollywood stars. Taneja was convicted in a massive mortgage fraud in the Washington D.C. area last year and sentenced to seven years in prison. Since then the Hussain brothers have taken over Bollywood shows in the States.
U.S. officials did not go into specifics about the Shahrukh Khan episode. "A lot of stuff we discuss with passengers we can't reveal because of privacy rules," CBP spokesman Elmer Camacho remarked. Camacho also mentioned that the process did not take two hours as claimed and SRK was treated professionally throughout the process.
Coincidentally, Chicago-based Altaf Hussain has the same name as the London-based leader of Pakistan's Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party. This may be another reason for the CBP red flag. Altaf Hussain( the man that the local promoter was mistaken for) used to be involved in Pakistani politics and frequently accused of sectarian violence (most notably by Imran Khan). He worked as a cab-driver in Chicago before eventually returning to Pakistan to found MQM and represent Mohajir interests.
Well, if the superstar's name didn't cause the stir, then many around the world will feel much better!
