You must have seen images and videos circulating of the Bentley that was stolen in London and was recovered in Karachi. But how did it get there? Let us break it down for you.
What Actually Happened?
The Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Office of Pakistan received information from a British intelligence agency regarding the presence of a grey Bentley Mulsanne, V8 Automatic, VIN number SCBBA63Y7FC001375, engine number CKB304693. The report said that the Bentley was stolen from London, United Kingdom but was present in DHA Karachi.
This unprecedented news caused the CCE Karachi to raid a house on August 30th, 2022 and found the grey Bentley parked in the porch. The car had a handmade Pakistani registration number plate BRS 279 (2020 Sindh) on the front. But, the chassis number of the engine was found to match the one stolen in London.
After the recovery of the vehicle, the owner of the premises, Jameel Shafi, was asked to provide documentation of the car. To this, he replied that a person named Naveed Bilwani had sold him the car and had claimed to take all responsibility regarding the documentation of the vehicle. As the car keys were not available, the car was taken away by the car carrier.
How It Happened?
It seems to be allegedly a case of national and international corruption. In 2020, a Bulgarian ambassador, Associate. Prof Aleksandar Borisov Parashkevov, was called back to Bulgaria due to alleged corruption. The ambassador was found to be abusing his rights under the Geneva Convention and providing his Pakistani businessmen friends with imported luxury cars. One of those cars was this grey Bentley Mulsanne that was imported by the ambassador availing his diplomatic position and was still registered under his name in the Sindh excise record. The interesting part is that the same Bentley Mulsanne was stolen from London, UK, and has been found in Karachi.
As per the norm, any imported luxury vehicle needs to go through a proper procedure to get registered. Documentation such as sale permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NOC from Pakistan Customs, and the receipt of the payment of duty and taxes is required to be obtained.
It was the responsibility of the Sindh Excise and Taxation department to register this vehicle with all the aforementioned documentation. Instead, the car was registered without completing all legal formalities.
What are your thoughts on this unique story? Share in the comments below!
