Illicit Car Imports Under Judiciary’s Scrutiny

EghtesadOnline: Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani says they have questioned potential suspects in the case revolving around the alleged illegal release of imported vehicles from the customs warehouses.

News ID: ۷۸۳۳۶۲

21 July 2018

President Hassan Rouhani has launched a crackdown on the alleged illicit import of vehicles and their release from customs through forgery. He has requested the top judicial official to probe into the allegations of misconduct.

The judiciary chief spoke out regarding the ongoing investigation, saying they have already started looking into the matter.

“The judiciary has long been investigating the alleged offences via the General Inspection Organization. The GIO had issued an indictment and referred the case to the attorney general.”

According to Financial Tribune, the roots of the inquiry can be traced back to the government’s shutdown of the online auto imports registration website for seven months to revise auto import rules.

The website was reopened in the final days of 2017, and online car imports registration resumed. However, it has become a bone of contention that during the seven-month total shutdown, thousands of cars have been registered online, entered the country and hit the roads.

According to Larijani, the attorney general has in recent days been busy with an extensive investigation into the allegations.

He added, “Several suspects who are senior directors in the Industries Ministry have been summoned, interrogated and barred from leaving the country.”

Moreover, prosecutors have called managers of several auto importing firms to provide explanations.

Over the past few months, reports of the misconduct came into spotlight and drew reactions from several officials until the president ordered the launch of an anti-corruption crackdown which involves several government bodies pooling forces to probe into the case.