Comedian Chris Rock may be facing criminal charges for raising a South African girl without following proper adoption procedures.

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Rock has raised little Ntombi-futhi Samantha for close to seven years with his estranged wife, Malaak Compton-Rock. But now the couple is being investigated by a South African police unit who believe they may have avoided legal procedures while taking her to America, says The Daily Mail.

Rock and Compton-Rock are in the middle of a custody battle since splitting last year, which is part of what led to the police unit's investigation. American authorities reportedly contacted South African authorities, and now the elite unit, called The Hawks, is investigating.

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"It sounded like a strange case and it has been flagged up to us. We are awaiting more details from Home Affairs who are looking into how this came about," a member of the unit told The Daily Mail. "Whatever arrangement there was between the Rocks and the parents of the child, laws are in place to prevent parents from allowing their children to travel overseas indefinitely with third parties."

The detective continued, "It seems there has not been regular contact with the biological parents and if money changed hands, or even gifts in return for the child staying with other people overseas, it sounds very much like child trafficking."

Ntombi-futhi Samantha apparently entered the United States under a leisure travel visa, rather than as a legal adoptee. Rock and Compton-Rock had brought her to live at their home in Alpine, N.J. Compton-Rock is reportedly in the process of trying to adopt her.

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