Customs tribunal orders to hand over car stolen from London to Bulgarian embassy or foreign ministry

A Customs appellate tribunal ruled that the Bentley Mulsanne confiscated last year in Karachi by the Customs should be handed over to the Bulgarian embassy or foreign ministry, the 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Wednesday.

In a judgment, it held that the Bentley Mulsanne worth Rs 350 million was imported in the name of the Bulgarian ambassador to Islamabad, and not trafficked.

 “We hold that the impugned vehicle has been seized without jurisdiction by the Customs Department,” the two-member tribunal said in its verdict on Tuesday on an appeal filed by a claimant of the luxury car.

The tribunal ordered the department to hand over the car to the Bulgarian embassy or the foreign affairs ministry if the embassy refuses to take its possession.

The tribunal comprised Arif Khan, its chairman, and Abdul Basit Chaudhry.

Last September, Customs seized the Bentley Mulsanne from a Defence Housing Authority property in Karachi. The car was allegedly stolen in the UK and brought to Karachi, where Sindh’s Excise and Taxation Department fraudulently registered it.

The Customs filed an FIR and detained Jamil Shafi, the car’s claimant, and Naveed Bilwani.

During inquiries, Shafi said Bilwani sold him the car after completing the documentation and other formalities.

The panel noted that the car was imported by the Bulgarian embassy in Pakistan under the ambassador’s name and cleared by Customs in 2019 against a bona fide exemption certificate from the foreign affairs ministry.

 

Reporter: Shahzaib Hussain