the case in court- Corriere.it

It could be an American court that decides who owns the nearly two million dollar Ferrari, seized in 2019 between the United States and Canada. This is a 1996 F50 with a decidedly complicated history. A real thriller that has been keeping the world of international collecting in suspense for months. In fact, United States customs officials blocked the car during a transfer trip that was suspicious to say the least in 2019, and after two years the United States government decided to go to court precisely to define the fate of the supercar sold to a collector in Florida. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York has thus initiated a civil action to try to determine the ownership of the car on which there are still too many shadows.

The Ferrari F50 in question had accumulated just over 17,200 kilometers and according to an estimate requested by the government last year, the value would now be around $ 1,949,669. Only 349 examples of the iconic spider with a removable hard top were produced between 1995 and 1997, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Maranello-based company. A model highly sought after by collectors, born from the idea of ​​Piero Ferrari to create a car that brought as much technology as possible from Formula 1 to the road, such as the extensive use of composite materials and carbon fiber and the 4.7-liter V12 engine. , derived from the one used by Scuderia Ferrari. The car at the center of the dispute was seized in December 2019 while being shipped from Quebec to a car collector in Florida: US Customs and Border Protection officers at the Peace Bridge port of entry in Buffalo, according to court documents , they would have noticed something strange during the inspection: the rivets holding the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plate would have been covered with a black tar-like substance, inconsistent with factory standards. And after contacting Ferrari and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the discovery of the theft which took place in March 2003 in a parking lot at the Hotel Donatello in Imola. An Italian, Paolo Provenzi, reported his disappearance, followed in the case by the lawyer Alessandra Piras, who documented how the purchase of the car dates back to about a month before the disappearance of the car, then paid about 309,500 dollars (260,000 euros) .

It is not clear how the Ferrari F50 got from Italy to Canada, where Mohammed Alsaloussi regularly bought it to take it to Florida in September 2019 for $ 1.435 million. The collector said he had no suspicion about the origin of the car. Now two are claiming ownership, and attorney Alessandra Piras, who represents Provenzi, told The Buffalo News, a CNN affiliate, that the car would have made some complicated laps before landing in the United States, ending up in its various passages also in Japan. According to court documents, the American buyer has already registered the car with Ikonick Collections Ltd., a holding company for its automobile collection. Our client holds the government issued title and vehicle registration and has paid fair market value to a reputable seller – explains Mohammed Alsaloussi’s attorney Richard O’Neill. We have only recently discovered the existence of another party in the case – continues the American lawyer – but we have many questions about the facts surrounding the alleged sale and theft of 2003, and we intend to do a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the complaint. After an 18-year odyssey, in which we know we have crossed countries and continents – said United States Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr .. – we have decided that the time has come for a court to determine the rightful owner of the vehicle. Until the case is resolved, the car will be detained in Buffalo by US Customs and Border Protection.