REPORT: Briatore and Symonds could be extradited to Singapore to face criminal charges

[Giuseppe F1]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/renault/6199553/Flavio-Briatore-and-Pat-Symonds-face-extraditon-threat-over-race-fixing-scandal.html


Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds face extraditon threat over race-fixing scandal

Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds could potentially be extradited to Singapore to face criminal charges in the wake of their departure from Renault on Wednesday in connection with race-fixing claims.


By Tom Cary
Published: 7:00AM BST
17 Sep 2009


Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds face extraditon threat over race-fixing scandal

There are also legal challenges open to Ferrari and their driver Felipe Massa, who missed out on last year's world drivers' crown by a single point; and to Renault itself, which may want to sue its former employees for allegedly bringing the company's name into disrepute.

Renault F1 managing director Briatore and executive director of engineering Symonds departed under a cloud on Wednesday as it was announced that the team would not contest charges of fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The pair were accused by former driver Nelson Piquet Jr of asking him to crash in last September's race in order to help team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race, and were due to go before the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Monday.

Briatore had denied all claims made against him and even announced last week that he had launched criminal proceedings against Piquet Jnr and his father, triple world champion Nelson Piquet Snr, for "attempted blackmail and false allegations".

Symonds had been rather more reticent and had been offered immunity in return for full disclosure.

However, Renault now says it will not contest the charges. The French manufacturer has been conducting its own internal investigation ever since the allegations came to light and has yet to say anything official in public.

Monday's WMSC hearing will still take place but will now probably be attended by a Renault team lawyer, who will plead for clemency, claiming the alleged actions of two men should not affect the employment of nearly 700 other staff.

The FIA could still impose sanctions if it finds Renault guilty, including excluding the team from the championship, although that must be considered unlikely given the two people Piquet claimed were responsible have now left.

The FIA will also bear in mind that it does not want another manufacturer to leave the sport and is likely to let Renault escape lightly in 'the best interests of the sport'.

So much for the sporting repercussions. Renault potentially faces a glut of other legal repercussions as a result of Briatore's and Symonds's alleged actions.

Telegraph Sport understands Singapore could request extradition from a Commonwealth country for someone charged for offences which are deemed "extradition crimes".

Part One of the First Schedule of the Singapore Extradition Act lists "acts done with the intention of endangering vehicles, vessels or aircraft" as an extraditable crime. "Malicious or wilful damage to property" is also on the list.

Whether the Singapore government would want to jeopardise its chances of hosting future grands prix by dragging Formula One's name through the mud is a moot point.

Ferrari's and Massa's case against Renault could prove more substantial. The Brazilian, who had been leading in Singapore until Piquet's crash, finished 13th in the race and ended up losing the championship to Lewis Hamilton by a single point. Both he and the team's loss of earnings would be significant.

Stephen Hornsby, a specialist sports lawyer for Davenport Lyons, believes they could potentially have a stronger case than Sheffield United, who won £30 millon in damages from West Ham over the Carlos Tévez affair earlier this year after being relegated from the Premier League in 2007.

"There is a clear causal link between the alleged cheating and the financial loss to Massa and his team," Hornsby said. "As for Renault suing Briatore that is possible too. But Renault are unlikely to want to keep the matter going for little reward."

[harsha]

lol...I wonder if Alonso likes how he unwittingly helped Hamilton to win the Championship

afterall,those two guys were such close chums ;)

[wedge]

Any sympathy towards Flav if he ended up in Changi Prison?

[harsha]

nope,none whatsoever :p :

[ioan]

It does fail to mention that Felipe's loss of grid position was due to a pitstop cock up... Saying they were more under pressure is rubbish IMO, as every pitstop is a highly pressurised environment and relies on people not making mistakes. There are too many ifs and buts about last season and I think this would be hard to prove or link with the cheating scandal. Good luck to them none the less though, but it doesn't change the fact Felipe didn't score enough points. They could also try and sue the Melbourne circuit for having a wall so close to turn one, and Malaysia for having a poor track surface.. Both these incidents also played a part in the final outcome IMO.... :)

Before you start pushing the piano even faster down the stairs, there is no official statement from Ferrari or Massa about them starting any kind of actions related to Crashgate. ;)

[TMorel]

I can't see how you could say Massa would have won, and fair play to Ferrari and Felipe for not.

OK, so NPjr didn't crash, Alonso didnt win, didn't carry the momentum thru to Japan and so Kubika won instead of just coming second, this inspires BMW to keep pushing after all and so instead of being out the way down the pack, Quick Nick is up in the mix in Brazil and takes off Massa, Lewis is free to drive like a loon without the pressure of cruising for 5th and so wins the last race of the championship. Someone suggests what with all the "Rule Britania" in the press of nabbing Button for an all Brit team and so Brawn never gets off the ground this season, Lewis doesnt need to cheat in Australia and without that, McClaren go on to greatness winning the Nobel Peace Prize and entering a junior team full of cute orphaned puppies.

For the love of god, have none of you SEEN "The Butterfly Effect"
You can't just go around saying things would have turned out different for Massa

[Sonic]

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.

Enjoy jail Flab - its one way to cut costs I suppose, no yachts!

[Knock-on]

Enter Valve Bounce stage left :D

[Valve Bounce]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/renault/6199553/Flavio-Briatore-and-Pat-Symonds-face-extraditon-threat-over-race-fixing-scandal.html


Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds face extraditon threat over race-fixing scandal

Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds could potentially be extradited to Singapore to face criminal charges in the wake of their departure from Renault on Wednesday in connection with race-fixing claims.


By Tom Cary
Published: 7:00AM BST
17 Sep 2009




OMIGOD!! they stole that from me!! I posted all that first. Do I have grounds for suing the Telegraph? :p :

[Knock-on]

Enter Valve Bounce stage left :D

God, am I good or what :laugh:

[Valve Bounce]

God, am I good or what :laugh:

:rotflmao:

[veeten]

Enter Valve Bounce stage left :D


OMIGOD!! they stole that from me!! I posted all that first. Do I have grounds for suing the Telegraph? :p :


God, am I good or what :laugh:

and that, dear friends, is the definition of timing... Well done, Knockie. :up: :D

[markabilly]

OMIGOD!! they stole that from me!! I posted all that first. Do I have grounds for suing the Telegraph? :p :
Yes, but I said it first and my lawyer will be calling yours about this blackmail and slander committed by you, right after he gets off the phone with the Telegraph :mad:

[BDunnell]

Please let's not go down the road of backdated penalties and altered results. How far back would you go? 1990 was a bit controversial.

[Robinho]

Please let's not go down the road of backdated penalties and altered results. How far back would you go? 1990 was a bit controversial.


iots not about altering results etc, its the compensation issue, as per Sheffield Utd and Tevez/West Ham - the results still stand, but there is a valid arguement regarding loss of earnings - TBH i can't see anything coming of that in F1 though

[ioan]

God, am I good or what :laugh:

That was excellent! :rotflmao:

[CNR]

It does fail to mention that Felipe's loss of grid position was due to a pitstop cock up... Saying they were more under pressure is rubbish IMO, as every pitstop is a highly pressurised environment and relies on people not making mistakes.

all ferrari would need to prove there may not have been the rush to get him out in to a compressed field of cars
you have to look at the fact he was leading the race before the safety car they could have a case

[Roamy]

I don't think they would put him in jail but they may 'Cane" the sh!t out of him.

[ioan]

I don't think they would put him in jail but they may 'Cane" the sh!t out of him.

Depends how much money people lost because of his antics.
If it's only 10€ than he'll be canned, if it's a couple millions he will go to jail, if it's much more he might get lynched before getting out of jail.

[F1boat]

I wonder why so much malice. I hope that he won't go to jail, after all, he made Fred and MS champions. Anyway, I think that Singapore will not risk their GP future.

[UltimateDanGTR]

i cant help thinking flav will get his just desserts. good riddance.

and as a side note, whats gonna happen to QPR?

[Bullet]

The Ferrari issue is not much of a stretch. Massa was leading...and had he only pulled a point out of that race... It's not like he lost the championship by 10 points and had to win the Sing race from mid-pack. Having said that, maybe Hamilton's strategy in Brazil would have been different knowing he needed more... There's a lot of "if's" but it really is not much of a stretch to say the drivers title could have been different if not for this situation.

[Saint Devote]

I think the "journalist" of the daily British rag is smoking his socks.

[Valve Bounce]

I think the "journalist" of the daily British rag is smoking his socks.


You'd know, of course :rolleyes:

[OutRun]

I don't think they extradite people for fraud. The thought of Briatore getting caned in a public square does have a certain appeal.

[N. Jones]

If I remember correctly this same type of rumor came up during 2007 and nothing came of it then, so I believe that nothing will come of it here.

[Valve Bounce]

Extradition may not come into the ambit of Race Fixing, but conspiring to crash a racing car at speed where other drivers, race marshals and spectators could be injured, might be something that does.

My gut feeling is that when Renault had sufficient evidence against Sleazy Flav and Pat Symonds, the two were convinced that the best way forward was for them to depart Renault. The alternative would most likely have the two arrested on arrival in Singapore next week, with the race cars impounded.

With the leaking of evidence and interviews carried out so far, these two turning up at the WMSC hearing next Monday would reveal more than sufficient evidence for the Singapore police to take action.

But extradition is something else, as agreements between agreeing nations only cover certain crimes, and in fact, may not cover crimes where the punishments are in disagreement with EU countries'. For instance, it may cover fraud, but not murder.

[Valve Bounce]

If I remember correctly this same type of rumor came up during 2007 and nothing came of it then, so I believe that nothing will come of it here.
Was there a race fixing car crash in 2007?

[Daniel]

w00t. I have £5 riding on Flav going on trial :)

[Valve Bounce]

w00t. I have £5 riding on Flav going on trial :)

He does have a way out: get in his boat and motor around the Mediterranean, stopping only at ports where there are no extradition treaties, like Morocco, Tunisia, Bosnia, etc. A person of his resources could evade extradition like forever. Look at Christopher Skase - they couldn't even extradite the guy from Spain back to Australia.

[Koz]

Now... where are my bounty hunter boots...

[race_director]

I would love to see him get spankked in singapore. and shown on LIVE tv :)

[CNR]

http://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/remweb/legal/ln2/rss/legalnews/64007.html?utm_source=rss%20subscription&utm_medium=rss


Lawyers whom BT spoke to say it is possible the pair could be extradited and charged here for their alleged attempts to fix the race, but that it would depend on two key points.
'One, are they based in countries with which Singapore has an extradition treaty? And, two, is what they've done considered an extraditable offence?' says lawyer Nicholas Narayanan, who runs his own practice.
Briatore is reported to be an Italian citizen, while Symonds is a British citizen. Singapore has an extradition treaty with the UK, but not with Italy.
As for whether the pair could be accused of an extraditable crime, lawyers point to the list of offences in the Extradition Act in Singapore.
Mr Narayanan says Briatore and Symonds, if they did ask Piquet Jr to intentionally crash his car, could arguably be considered guilty of the following offences cited in the Act:

Malicious or wilful damage to property;

Acts done with the intention of endangering vehicles, vessels or aircraft; or

Criminal conspiracy to commit a serious crime, where the serious crime is transnational in nature and involves an organised criminal group.
Another lawyer - who has advised on extradition issues, but asked not to be named - felt, however, that it would be 'a stretch' to say that Briatore and Symonds committed the aforementioned extraditable offences, even if they had instructed Piquet Jr to crash his car, and that it would be correspondingly difficult to extradite them to Singapore on such grounds.
Also, even if Briatore and Symonds could arguably be considered to have committed an extraditable offence, it would be up to Singapore to decide if it even wants to have the pair brought here and charged.
Observers have said that Singapore is unlikely to make such a move, given the negative publicity it would throw up.
Mr Iswaran also said that 'this is a matter between the FIA and the teams'.
'We are a host. Our job is to make sure we put on a good show so that the visitors enjoy themselves, have an eventful experience. In that regard, we did a good job last year and that's our target again this year.
'As for the matters pending before the FIA in terms of Renault, that's really between the FIA, the teams and FOM (Formula One Management),' he added.
Source: Business Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.
http://www.f1sa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17283&Itemid=219

it now looks like he was forcing drivers to sign a FFBB management contract before signing them to renault.

[jas123f1]

lol...I wonder if Alonso likes how he unwittingly helped Hamilton to win the Championship

afterall,those two guys were such close chums ;)

So you think that Alonso didn't know of the "accident".. before it happened..

:|

[ArrowsFA1]

I doubt teams would want to race in countries like this in the future. Every accident would have to be investigated from then on out...
Not strictly comparable, but there was (still is?) a law in Italy which I believe was designed to deal with road accidents, but was applied to racing accidents as well. The deaths of Wolfgang von Trips, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Peterson and Ayrton Senna were all followed by criminal proceedings.

[ArrowsFA1]

They sure did although jail was never an option in any of these cases...
I'm not so sure. IIRC charges of manslaughter were brought against Gianni Restelli and Riccardo Patrese after Peterson's death.

[N. Jones]

Was there a race fixing car crash in 2007?
Sorry, what does that have to do with my belief that criminal charges won't be field? :confused: not :mad:

[ioan]

Sorry, what does that have to do with my belief that criminal charges won't be field? :confused: not :mad:

Just as much as your belief has to do with reality.

[N. Jones]

Good lord, I spelled filed wrong. Sorry about that.

[Valve Bounce]

If I remember correctly this same type of rumor came up during 2007 and nothing came of it then, so I believe that nothing will come of it here.

Well if it wasn't a race fixing through crashing a team mates car, what was it? Share the rumour with us, please!!

[N. Jones]

Was that not the year of the McLaren spy scandal?