Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based businessman involved in Rs 100 crore customs scam allegedly sold luxury cars to former and sitting ministers in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress.
The accused was identified as Basharat Ahmed Khan, the owner of the Hyderabad-based Car Lounge showroom in Gachibowli. It is yet to be known if these cars were sold at a lower price. This comes months after Basharath was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Ahmedabad in a Rs 100 crore customs fraud related to the import of high-end luxury cars.
In May 2025, based on specific intelligence inputs, the DRI found that luxury vehicles were imported into India at nearly 50 percent of their value through deliberate under-invoicing and misdeclaration at Indian ports. Basharath was taken into custody by the DRI officials in Surat and produced before a special court in Ahmedabad. Sources indicated that the fraud would be around Rs 100 crore.
According to local reports, the scam was uncovered based on a tip-off to an intelligence officer about the under-valuation of the luxury cars. Intelligence reports suggest that Car Lounge imported 8 luxury cars, including 1 Rolls-Royce, 2 Lexus cars, and 5 Toyota Land Cruisers.
The remand report revealed that Khan confessed to having an undervalued Land Cruiser 300 by AUD 38000 (Rs 20,91,000).
Similarly, he accepted to own an undervalued Rolls-Royce Cullinan by (Pound Sterling) 1,17,300 (Rs 1,24,45,530). Further, he accepted having an undervalued Lexus LX-500D by USD 59,520 (Rs 50,08,608) and revealed that he undervalued all the imported cars.
Who are the buyers of the luxury cars
During searches conducted by DRI in April 2025, it was found that one Lexus LX-500D car was sold to Ayaan Educational Society, represented by Mohmmed Sarib Rasool Khan, at Rs 3.25 crore, whereas the landed value (as per the BE filed) of the car was shown as around Rs 1.75 crore.
Following this, searches were conducted at the residential premises of Mohammed Sarib Rasool Khan; However, no Lexus was found at the residential premises.
The searches concluded that Basarath deliberately misdeclared and undervalued the actual price of imported luxury cars. He knowingly misdeclared and undervalued imported cars, and evaded customs duties to the tune of Rs 7 crore.
He has committed an offence punishable under Section 135 (1) (a) and 135 (1) of the Customs Act.
Cars provided to ministers
The investigation revealed that the businessman sold the luxury cars to politicians. “Over the last 10 years, the showroom has been operational in Hyderabad. Earlier, he used to sell small cars. But later, as he grew his connections, Basharath started selling high-end cars. These cars were put on display at the showroom. Many vehicles were sold to VIPs, and cars were lent to be ‘used’ by politicians, cutting across all parties. Basharath held a good rapport with a few parliamentarians,” an official was quoted as saying by Newsmeter.
The official added that customers who purchased cars from Basharat paid the amount in cash to avoid taxes.
