Less than a week after announcing that they have tracked down a white Lamborghini with the infamous “DOMOGATSKY” license plate that went viral on social media, Bali Police announced that the car’s de facto owner, a Russian national, has fled to the United Arab Emirates.
Bali Police spokesman Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto said that the 2012 Lamborghini Aventador was originally registered with the license plate “D 1 FEB”.
D is the vehicle registration code for the West Java capital of Bandung.
The car’s registration actually expired in July 2022, with overdue payments in taxes and fines that amount to IDR104,613,900 (US$6,797).
A Russian man named Sergei Domogatsky, whose name is on the customized license plate and is believed to have driven the car in Bali, reportedly fled to either Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
“He’s scared of coming [to the police headquarters],” said Deputy Director of Bali Police’s General Crimes Unit Suratno earlier today.
The police, he said, are awaiting Domogtasky’s return.
Earlier reports said that Sergei Domogatsky is the legitimate owner of the car. However, Suratno said that documents show the car is registered to a Bandung-based company called PT Eco Sinergi Tekhnologi.
“We will investigate this because how could [the car] be then used by a Russian citizen under the name Sergei?” he said.
The officer added that after photos of the car went viral, Domogatsky likely brought the car to an auto shop in Denpasar to hide the vehicle from the police. Authorities tracked down and confiscated the conspicuous sports car on March 9, and called on the owner to retrieve the vehicle after they settled the penalties for traffic violations.
Bali Police are in the midst of a crackdown on traffic violations, particularly those carried out by foreigners, with offenses ranging from using customized license plates to driving without a helmet to driving without a license.
