Revealed: Oliver Oakes resigned days after brother arrested with ‘large amount of cash'
Oliver Oakes, who resigned abruptly as Alpine Formula One team principal earlier this week, did so just days after his brother William, a fellow director at Hitech Grand Prix, was arrested.
The Telegraph can reveal that William Oakes, 31, who is listed as a director of Hitech Grand Prix on Companies House, was arrested in the Silverstone Park area last Thursday, and charged with 'transferring criminal property' last Friday. He was in possession of a large amount of cash, according to police. He has been remanded in custody.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: 'William Oakes, 31, of Rugby was charged with transferring criminal property on Friday, May 2 after he was stopped in the Silverstone Park area in Northamptonshire on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in possession of a large amount of cash. He appeared before Northampton Magistrates' Court on Saturday, May 3, and remanded in custody.'
Oliver Oakes, who was at the Miami Grand Prix at the time, declined to comment when approached by The Telegraph. He handed in his resignation earlier this week. His whereabouts are currently unknown. He is understood to have flown to Dubai following Sunday's Miami Grand Prix.
Hitech's ownership has been a source of discussion in recent years. It was 75 per cent owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin until nine days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 when Oakes took over full ownership.
Mazepin, 57, has close ties to Russia's president, Vladmir Putin. He was one of a number of leading Russian businessmen invited to a meeting with Putin at the Kremlin hours after the invasion began.
Oakes, 37, formed a new company Hitech Global Holdings Ltd on March 11 2022 to take control of the shares, which came from Mazepin's Cyprus-based investment company Bergton Management Ltd.
The new company was formed just three days after Mazepin and his son were sanctioned by both the UK government and the European Union, prompting questions in Parliament.
Oakes said at the time that it was 'always part of the strategic plan for Bergton Management to exit Hitech in early 2022 and myself to own Hitech fully'. But Labour MP Liam Byrne noted that the shares had been 'relinquished' to Oakes rather than bought.
'There does not seem to have been any cash paid out for this major economic interest in a globally significant grand prix company,' Byrne said, adding that there was 'a clear risk that oligarchs are using proxies, and that this misbehaviour is washing up on our shores and in Companies House'.
Mazepin initially bought a stake in Hitech in 2016, when his son Nikita arrived to compete in F3, with the team also gaining Russian minerals company Uralkali as a sponsor.
When Nikita Mazepin made it to Formula One with Haas in 2021, Uralkali became the American team's title sponsor.
Both Haas and Nikita Mazepin had their Haas contracts terminated after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when EU sanctions were imposed on them.
Nikita Mazepin has since had his ban overturned by the Court of Justice of the European Union which ruled that 'association' with his father was not enough to warrant it.
Oakes's resignation from Alpine was announced on Tuesday, two days after the Miami Grand Prix, triggering widespread surprise in Formula One.
The Briton, a former junior karting world champion, only joined the Enstone-based team last summer, leading them to sixth place in the constructors' championship in his first season.
It was assumed he had had a falling out with Flavio Briatore, the controversial Italian entrepreneur and executive advisor of the Enstone team. The two are known to have disagreed over their driver line-up this season.
However, Briatore and Oakes issued a joint statement on Wednesday saying that suggestions of a fallout were 'completely false' and adding that the reasons for Oakes' departure were 'not related to [Alpine]' and 'of a personal nature'.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump admin sanctions El Chapo's sons and offers $10 million reward for their capture
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Monday against the two fugitive sons of jailed Sinaloa Cartel boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and offered up a $10 million reward for information leading to their arrests. Archivaldo Ivan Guzman and Jesus Alfredo Guzman run the 'Los Chapitos' faction of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, which has been at 'the forefront of trafficking fentanyl into the United States' since their father's imprisonment in the US, according to the State Department. Los Chapitos' ability to procure fentanyl precursor chemicals, combined with its penchant for violence and control of secret laboratories in Sinaloa, has allowed the syndicate to dominate the illicit drug trade. 3 El Chapo's sons run the 'Chapitos' faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. AP 'Los Chapitos is a powerful, hyperviolent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel at the forefront of fentanyl trafficking into the United States,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement announcing the sanctions. 'At the Department of the Treasury, we are executing on President Trump's mandate to completely eliminate drug cartels and take on violent leaders like 'El Chapo's' children,' Bessent added. 'Treasury is maximizing all available tools to stop the fentanyl crisis and help save lives.' The sanctions will block all property and interests in property and entities owned directly or indirectly by the Guzman brothers. 3 Archivaldo Ivan Guzman and his brother are both wanted by the US government for drug trafficking. Archivaldo and Jesus were also designated as targets under the State Department's Narcotics Rewards Program. The department has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of each brother. 'We will continue to protect our nation by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding Mexico-based cartels' violent and criminal activity, ' State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. 'Today's action further demonstrates the Trump Administration's unwavering commitment to eliminating cartels and ensuring the safety of the American people.' 3 The Trump administration has offered a $10 million reward for the capture of Jesus Alfredo Guzman and his brother. Additionally, the Treasury Department sanctioned several businesses controlled by Mexican businessman Jose Raul Nunez Rios and his make-up artist wife, Sheila Paola Urias Vazquez. The couple is believed to be financing an important Los Chapitos cell in Mazatlan, Mexico, which has been waging war against rival cartels and is engaged in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and money laundering, according to the Trump administration. The sanctions follow the Trump administration's designation of the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February. El Chapo was convicted in 2019 on multiple conspiracy counts and sentenced to life in prison. He is serving his sentence at ADX Florence, a federal supermax prison in Colorado.
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Virginia man convicted in 2023 ambush, murder of NJ councilwoman
A man accused of ambushing and killing New Jersey councilwoman and evangelical minister Eunice Dwumfour was found guilty Monday of her murder. Rashid Ali Bynum, 30, was convicted by a jury of nine men and three women after five hours of deliberation Friday and another hour and 15 minutes on Monday morning, the Newark Star Ledger reported. Dwumfour's husband and other family members wept at the verdict. The Newark-born and raised Dwumfour, 30, a Republican serving her first term on the Sayreville Council, had just dropped off a roommate after coming home from Walmart the night she was shot. She went to park while he brought the groceries into their rented home at the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex. At 7:22 p.m. she was shot 14 times while sitting in her car. The car rolled downhill about 100 feet and smashed into two parked cars. Surveillance footage later surfaced of a mysterious figure fleeing the scene, corroborating neighbors' descriptions. Dwumfour had beaten a Democratic incumbent in 2021 to become the town's first Black elected official. She was also a staple in the community for her work in the church. She lived at the Camelot at La Mer apartment complex with her preteen daughter and two roommates. Just a few months earlier she had a fellow pastor of her Nigeria-based church, the prosperity gospel group Champions Royal Assembly. Husband Peter Ezechukwu was due to arrive from Nigeria that spring. Police finally caught up with and arrested Bynum, a former church associate of Dwumfour's, in August 2023. He was indicted on murder and weapons charges the same month and denied bail. Bynum's attorney, Michael Ashley, told reporters after the verdict 'there was no direct evidence' his client had pulled the trigger, and that Bynum 'almost certainly' planned to appeal. He's scheduled for sentencing in August and faces 30 years to life in prison. With News Wire Services
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler Calls on California Governor Gavin Newsom to Request Disaster Declaration for Small Businesses Impacted by L.A. Riots
Agency Requests Authorization to Deliver Aid to Victims of Looting, Property Destruction WASHINGTON, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), called on California Governor Gavin Newsom to request an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Declaration to authorize the agency to begin delivering urgent assistance to small businesses across Los Angeles that have been ransacked by rioters since civil unrest began last week. The agency stands ready to deliver critical aid to innocent American victims – whose storefronts have been looted and destroyed by the migrant mob that is wreaking havoc in defense of criminal illegal aliens. 'We're giving Gavin Newsom the opportunity to stop siding with criminal illegal aliens and start siding with law-abiding Americans – many of whom have lost everything to the violent and destructive riots across Los Angeles,' said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. 'The migrant mob has looted stores, destroyed storefronts, and committed criminal acts of vandalism against our small businesses. Although local leaders are allowing Los Angeles to burn, federal partners are ready to help American citizens rebuild – and we will do so, as soon as the Governor answers their call for help.' For the safety of employees and small business owners, Administrator Loeffler recently announced that SBA would be relocating its Regional Office out of Los Angeles due to the city's refusal to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Regional Office is located mere steps from the violence that continues to occur in downtown Los Angeles – and where U.S. Marines have been deployed to restore order. The SBA has provided the state of California with all relevant information needed to request an EIDL Declaration – which will allow small businesses in Los Angeles to apply for low-interest, long-term loans of up to $2 million to help them rebuild following the catastrophic violence of this weekend. Given the urgency of the situation, the SBA is committed to approving any such disaster declaration as soon as it is submitted by Governor Newsom. CONTACT: SBA HQ Press Team U.S. Small Business Administration press_office@ in to access your portfolio
