Exposed: Criminals behind huge car fraud

[igor@af]

From BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1456337.stm


In an investigation that spanned the globe, car expert Quentin Willson went undercover to expose the biggest car fraud in the world and the international criminals behind it.
The BBC has discovered that over the last four years tens of thousands of stolen Japanese cars have been secretly imported into Britain and sold as legitimate vehicles.

The cars involved include Toyota Landcruisers, Honda NSX's and Lexus 400's.

Now British police are poised to seize many of these motors and restore them to their rightful owners.

Many of them have no idea what is going on. It's a crime that will eventually cost thousands of British motorists well over £1bn.

As Watchdog investigated this story it became clear that organised criminals were part of the plan.

The Yakuza, or Japanese mafia, have been stealing high value used cars, often worth up to £30,000 on the UK market, shipping them out of Japan in containers and sending them to Dubai.

Car conspiracy

Dubai, which has a free trade zone, plays an important role within this conspiracy where under the desert sun, cars are being given false papers and new identities.

Some of the older cars are even changed to appear as newer models.

One source has claimed that up to half a million Japanese cars have come through this route from Japan.

Dubai, it seems, has a whole industry solely dedicated to changing the identities of thousands of stolen cars.

Middle man

One of the key players amidst this conspiracy is the middle man responsible for bringing thousands of Japanese cars into Britain - a car dealer from Dubai called Karim.

Karim has several contacts in the UK, one of whom is Neel Chudasama.

Watchdog tracked down Mr Chudasama to his mansion in the heart of Bedfordshire and sent in an undercover team, posing as car buyers, to find out a little bit more about his line of work.

Not only did he admit to bringing in stolen cars but he bragged about how he could falsify their identities to make them appear new.

But Mr Chudasama is one of many people involved in the importation of stolen cars.

It is only in the last few months that the police have started to realise the sheer scale of this fraud.

Enormous problem

The scam was first uncovered in Hampshire, where officers say that up to 50% of identified cars stopped are stolen.

Large numbers of motorists now stand to lose both their cars and their money. The problem is starting to look enormous.

DCI Ryan from the Metropolitan Police advises anyone who suspects they have a stolen Japanese Import to "batten down the hatches and be aware that it's going to be a difficult time".

"The reality is you have to be safe and you have to be legal.

"So if you find out that the car is stolen, you have to tell your insurance company because the worst thing that could happen is you could have an accident and find you're not insured because you withheld a material fact from them."

[NSX-R-SSJ20K]

yea they import cars as grey imports you don't get any imformation as to what their history is or where they are from so you're left in the lurch you just cross your fingers and hope its legit most of the time it is

but Quentin Wilson yea he used to be a car salesman then he went to work for the BBC on Top Gear and has done many a report on used cars on how to buy what to buy problems the car industry shows

exposing the massive cost of vehicles and grey imports thats pretty unsettling that that has come up does it say weather or not they are gonna reimburse the poor saps who bought the vehicles?

[P11GT]

ive always fancied a Evo, but after hearing all this (and its been going on for ages) it does unsettle me a bit.

the simple answer is, if youre newly bought import turns out to be stolen in japan or whatever, then you get NOTHING!! ZIP!!! unless you can get something back from the dealers (yeah right!!)

i cant remember if it was Quentin, but there was a program following that report a while ago that followed the police around, investigating into stolen cars. Yeah, it was TopGear report. Anyways, they showed you how they were stolen in japan, sold to cyprus then converted to UK spec and sold onto the UK. Tey even pulled some poor sod on one of the british motorways, told them his Skyline was stolen (R32 or 33 cant remember) then took it off him there and then. The poor guy had to ring for a taxi!!!. He was in tears watching them tow it onto the back of a tow truck. "He'll not get a penny back" or words to that effect was said. So be warned, even authorised legitamit dealer can get dooped. There is a way to check the vehicles VIN against a stolen cars list somewhere, but i can remember where it is you have to go, well the police would be a start.

[haroon.gits]

11 men suspected of stealing nine luxury cars worth Dhs7 million from car rental firms in the UAE have been detained by police.
https://7days.ae/11-men-suspected-st...th-dhs7m/96512