Goa minister Atanasio Monserrate penalised in foreign currency case

Goa education minister Atanasio Monserrate, who was detained at the Mumbai airport last month for allegedly carrying unaccounted foreign and Indian currency, has been fined and slapped with a penalty of Rs2 lakh for the violation of the Customs Act and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules, a customs official said today.Monseratte has also been given the option of redeeming the confiscated Indian and foreign currency on the payment of the redemption fine of Rs5 lakh as per section 125 of the Customs Act, the official said.The minister, who was to fly to Dubai, was carrying $25,000 Traveller's Cheque, over 70,000 dirhams and Rs1.25 lakh in cash when he was caught by the customs officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus airport on April 2 in Mumbai.Customs officials said he was carrying Indian and foreign currency beyond permissible limits following which the extra currency was confiscated and he was penalised.He can get back the Indian and foreign currency which we had confiscated, by paying a redemption fine of Rs5 lakh, the official said.In February, Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was detained at the Delhi airport for allegedly carrying about Rs60 lakh of undeclared foreign currency. The singer and his manager Maroof were later slapped with a penalty of Rs15 lakh.