The market price of the posh car is Rs 3 crore and it was sold for Rs 2.5 crore. Sagar Thakkar bought the car from Kohli on May 7, 2016, and a document related to this was also signed.
Police have seized an Audi car belonging to Sagar Thakkar alias 'Shaggy', alleged kingpin of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) call centre scam of Thane in which thousands of Americans were defrauded to the tune of USD 300 million. The car, valued at Rs 2.5 crore, was seized by Thane police from Ahmedabad and was allegedly purchased from Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli in May, police said on Friday.
Hindustan Times quoted Thane police commissioner Param Bir Singh as saying, “He (Thakkar) bought the Audi R8 car from Virat Kohli but the cricketer is unaware of Thakkar’s activities.”
The ownership of the car is still not changed and it is in Kohli’s name, according to the report. The market price of the posh car is Rs 3 crore and it was sold for Rs 2.5 crore. Thakkar bought the car from Kohli on May 7, 2016, and a document related to this was also signed.
Form of notice of ownership of Audi R8 which was sold by Virat Kohli to Sagar Thakkar
Police sources informed that Thakkar had gifted the car to his girlfriend for her birthday. The police are yet to record her statement. Thakkar and his sister remain absconding and are said to be hiding in a Gulf country.
Incidentally, the US Justice Department has charged 61 people and entities linked to the scam where call centre agents impersonated IRS, immigration and other federal officials and demanded payments for non-existent debts. Asked about this development, Thane Police Commissioner Parambir Singh said "we will see if the accused persons are the same."
"We will ask FBI to give their list. We will share our list too," the IPS officer said.
The scam, which operated since 2013 through at least half a dozen call centres in adjoining Thane, targeted at least 15,000 American citizens. US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Thursday said these call centres stole more than USD 300 million from their victims.
A senior US Justice Department official was quoted as saying that "It's really important for the scammers in India to know that the United States is looking at this, is watching them and they could, if they engage in that activity, be extradited to the United Sates and could sit in jail ... for several years."
The scam, wherein US-based taxpayers were allegedly conned by Indian tele-callers posing as American tax and immigration officials, was unearthed early this month when police raided a clutch of call centres at Mira Road in Thane district.
Subsequently, police teams raided and shut down five call centres in Ahmedabad which were a part of the racket. Over 70 people, mostly directors and key persons linked to these call centres, have been arrested till now.
(Inputs from PTI)
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