F1 News: Singapore GP rights owner charged with ‘pay-to play’ (3rd Update)

Ong Beng Seng, a Singapore-based billionaire hotelier and architect of the city’s Formula One Grand Prix, was fined just $23,400 USD on Friday over a charge of greasing the pockets of former Singapore transport minister S. Iswaran to get government approvals needed for the race.

Ong, a 79-year-old Malaysian national, earlier this month pleaded guilty to the charge of abetting Iswaran in obstructing justice, admitting to relaying sensitive information about an ongoing anti-corruption investigation to the then minister.

The case has riveted Singapore, a nation that consistently tops global anti-corruption rankings and prides itself on the probity of its public officials, who are among the world’s best paid.

On Friday, Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng found that judicial mercy applied in this case and sentenced Ong, who wore a mask to court, to the maximum fine that the State Courts can impose.

Lee noted that there was undisputed medical evidence that established that Ong suffered from advanced multiple myeloma cancer, and a jail term would carry a “high and increased risk of endangering his life”.

Ong did not respond to questions from the media as he left the State Courts.

Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment by a High Court judge last October after being convicted on four counts of accepting gifts.

Hotel tycoon Ong Beng Seng—who holds the franchise for the Formula One Singapore grand prix—pleaded guilty Monday to abetting a senior politician in a pay-to-play scheme.

Ong Beng Seng just did what many businessmen has to do to get government approval – payoff a corrupt politician.

The former managing director of Singapore-listed Hotel Properties conceded on Monday to greasing the pockets of former Transport Minister S. Iswaran. The charges are related to flights, a hotel stay in Doha and Formula One tickets that Iswaran had received from Ong when the ex-lawmaker headed the Singapore Formula One night race steering committee.

Ong, who is currently out on bail, is expected to be handed down his sentence on August 15. He stepped down as managing director of Hotel Properties in April.

Property tycoon and hotelier Ong Beng Seng (see photo with F1 President Stefano Domenicali at Singapore GP) was granted permission by a court on Wednesday (30 October) to leave Singapore for over a week, with additional bail conditions that include an US$603,600 cash bail.

Ong plans to travel to London for medical treatment, followed by Boston in the United States, before heading to Gibraltar and Spain for business.

He is expected to return to Singapore on 9 November.

Ong was charged on 4 October, a day after former transport minister S Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.

Ong, who serves as managing director of Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), faces charges under Sections 165 and 204A of Singapore’s Penal Code for abetment.

Section 165 pertains to a public servant obtaining valuables from individuals with whom they have an official relationship, while Section 204A deals with obstructing justice.

If found guilty under Section 165, offenders face up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. The same penalties apply for abetting such offenses.

Ong’s charges arise from his involvement in a high-profile corruption case linked to Iswaran.

A Singapore court charged a property billionaire who owns the Singapore GP rights on Friday with obstructing justice and abetting offenses by a disgraced ex-transport minister jailed a day earlier in the city-state’s high-profile government graft case.

S. Iswaran was jailed for a year on Thursday after being found guilty of receiving gifts while in office – a typical way deals are done in the USA, called Pay-To-Play. It is how all corrupt USA politicians get filthy rich on meager salaries.

The owner of the rights to the race in Singapore’s Marina Bay, Ong Beng Seng, has now been charged having been accused of giving alleged kickbacks to Iswaran – who announced his resignation earlier in the year.

Ong was charged with one count of abetting Iswaran’s receiving of valuables and one count of obstruction of justice, according to the charge sheet.

It is claimed by prosecutors that Ong, the 78-year-old Malaysian based in Singapore, gave Iswaran tickets to the F1 race, Premier League matches and a ride on a private jet – with the gifts totaling more than $300,000.

The case has been the subject of major intrigue in Singapore, a wealthy financial hub that offers ministers salaries of more than $0.75 million to deter graft and prides itself on its reputation for clean governance.

Iswaran’s role of transport minister meant he dealt with Ong’s Singapore GP Pte, which promotes the grand prix, as an advisor but the state revealed earlier in the year that the 2024 race would proceed as normal despite the allegations.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing scandal, Singapore hosted the 2024 race last month as McLaren’s Lando Norris took a dominant victory at Marina Bay.

Singapore’s current contract with F1 is in place until 2028 after an extension to the deal was announced two years ago.