Serious Fraud Office Investigating Formula 1 Over Bribery Claims

Did Malone buy a mess from Ecclestone?

Formula 1 confirmed that the Serious Fraud Office has "begun a pre-investigation into the sport following a tip-off from a member of parliament," according to Christian Sylt for the London INDEPENDENT.

In April, SFO Dir David Green promised to conduct a "thorough examination" into allegations of bribery within F1 "after being tipped off" by Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee Chair Damian Collins.

The Formula One Group’s latest filings confirm that the SFO has "indicated that the matter was currently in its pre-investigation stage and that, in order to consider whether the SFO should open an investigation, it would review relevant material to determine whether or not there are suspected offenses that on reasonable grounds involve serious or complex fraud."

The allegations relate to the Concorde Implementation Agreement, the contract which underpins F1, which was signed in '13.

Prior to '13, every team, the Formula One Group and FIA "had a vote on proposals for changes to the regulations."

However, in '13, it changed to "only give a vote to the top six teams," with the Formula One Group and FIA also getting six votes each. It "boosted their voting power" from 3.8% to 33% and the Formula One Group paid FIA £3.9M "in recognition of it signing up."

FIA's approval was needed for Liberty's takeover of the company to "get the green light" and it made a £62M profit by cashing in its stake. INDEPENDENT