Former F1 driver arrested in ‘particularly serious case’ of ‘fraud and embezzlement’
Adrian Sutil has reportedly been arrested
Former F1 driver Adrian Sutil has reportedly been arrested in an international raid on suspicion of fraud and embezzlement.
The 42-year-old was detained on Thursday morning, according to German newspaper Bild, with investigators reportedly calling it a “particularly serious case”.
Adrian Sutil is reportedly in custody in a Baden-Württemberg prison
Sutil spent seven seasons on the Formula 1 grid over an eight-year period from 2007 to 2014, racing for Spyker, Force India and Sauber.
He disappeared from the racing scene after a year on the sidelines as a Williams reserve before competing in the Ferrari Challenge Europe in 2022 and 2023.
However, today it’s his alleged off-track antics that are making headlines.
According to Bild, the 42-year-old was arrested on Thursday morning when police officers raided three addresses; one in Monaco, Switzerland and Sindelfingen.
Sutil was amongst those arrested.
Although the German publication said the public prosecutor’s office would not comment on what exactly Sutil has been accused of, investigators say there is suspicion of “joint fraud in a particularly serious case and joint embezzlement”.
Sutil was taken to the Stuttgart District Court, where a judge executed an arrest warrant. The German is currently sitting, Bild claims, in custody in a Baden-Württemberg prison.
The German’s lawyer has not commented on the matter.
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Sutil is no stranger to controversy, which almost cost him his Formula 1 career.
Back in 2011, Sutil was involved in an incident at a Shanghai nightclub that left Lotus team executive, Eric Lux, with injuries from a champagne glass.
Sutil and Lux were among guests at a party to celebrate Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the China Grand Prix in the Chinese city.
Sutil claimed he only wanted to spill his drink on Lux, and that causing the injury was completely “unintentional and accidental.”
However, judge Christiane Thiemann in her ruling said: “The defendant knew that he had this glass in his hand. The glass was moving in an intended direction.”
He was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and given an 18-month suspended sentence, and was ordered to pay a 200,000 euro fine.
The case saw Sutil lose his Force India race seat, but he went on to make a comeback with the same team after a year away from the sport.
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