Official probing luxury car import scam transferred

With the investigation into the luxury car import scam gathering steam, a senior officer of the department of revenue intelligence (DRI), who is part of the probe team, has suddenly been transferred. Rajesh Ahuja reports.

With the investigation into the luxury car import scam gathering steam, a senior officer of the department of revenue intelligence (DRI), who is part of the probe team, has suddenly been transferred.

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So far, the DRI has seized more than 40 illegally imported high-end cars of brands like Hummer, Bentley and Aston Martin in Delhi and Mumbai. The main accused, Sumit Walia, was arrested, but he was recently released on bail.

According to sources, the gang involved in the scam may have imported more than 400 high-end cars by evading customs duty. The DRI has found huge cash remittances to buy these cars. “The kind of cash we are talking about is very difficult to arrange unless it is ill-gotten,” said a DRI official.

When HT got in touch, joint director Reyaz Ahmad termed the transfer as a routine affair. But sources said he joined the DRI’s Delhi zone office only in December last year.

The sources also said it seemed like an effort to derail the probe as some names belonging to high-profile business and political circles had come up.