Thane call centre scam: Kingpin Shaggy bought Audi R-8 from Virat Kohli

But the cricketer was not aware of the mastermind’s background and was not linked to the scam in any way.

Mumbai: The 3 crore Audi R-8 vehicle that Thane call centre mastermind Sagar Thakkar alias Shaggy had gifted his girlfriend, had been purchased from Indian Test captain Virat Kohli.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the Thane police, while confirming that Kohli sold the car to Thakkar, said that the cricketer himself was not aware of the mastermind’s background and was not linked to the scam in any way.

” We have seized the Audi R8 vehicle, worth Rs 3 crore, that Thakkar had purchased from the proceeds of his ill gotten wealth. On enquiries, we found that he had purchased the vehicle from cricketer Virat Kohli,” DCP Parag Manere was quoted as saying.

“Kohli obviously did not know about Thakkar’s background and is not linked to the case in any way,” he added.

The police seized the vehicle from Ahmedabad and it is being brought to Thane on Friday.

It is suspected that Thakkar is currently holed up in Dubai along with his sister Reema, who is also involved in the scam. They are allegedly staying with some relatives and the police is trying to get them back to India.

On Friday, US justice authorities announced action to shut down the group of call centres run by Sagar Thakkar.

The US attorney in the southern district of Texas state set charges against a total of 56 people and five Indian companies for conspiracy to commit identity theft, false impersonation of an officer of the United States, wire fraud and money laundering.