UK's Serious Fraud Office looking into F1 deal

MP Damian Collins has written to the body to ask it to investigate whether payments made to the FIA were illegal.

Motor racing’s governing body is not supposed to have a commercial interest in F1, but according to a report from ITV it has emerged that, as part of the 2013 bilateral Concorde Agreement deals, the FIA received a £3.9 million sum plus a 1 percent stake in the sport.

The details have left Collins, who chairs the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, concerned enough to write to the SFO to ask it to look into the matter.

The SFO confirmed to the BBC on Friday that it was examining the details to see whether there are grounds for it to begin a more detailed investigation.

"The Serious Fraud Office is reviewing material in its possession in relation to these allegations. All matters referred to the SFO are assessed against criteria to establish whether they may fall within its remit to investigate,” it said.

However, F1’s chiefs and the FIA have insisted that there was no wrongdoing in the commercial deal – which was aimed at guaranteeing stability for the governing body to continue its regulatory role.

A statement from the Formula One Group said: “The figures quoted, including the equity stake, were negotiated to ensure that the FIA could continue to provide and enforce a long-term regulatory framework, which provides safety and stability for the benefit for all key F1 stakeholders including teams, drivers, other partners and, of course, the F1 commercial rights holder itself”.

The FIA added: "The Concorde Implementation Agreement entered into by the commercial rights holder of Formula 1 and the FIA in 2013 introduced a new governance structure for Formula 1 and redefined certain conditions applicable to their relationship, in particular to ensure that the FIA be properly remunerated for its regulatory role.

"Within this agreement, a lump sum payment of $5m (£3.9m) was made to the FIA as part of the global consideration received in connection with the renegotiation of the terms of the agreements between the commercial rights holder and the FIA, and of the Concorde Agreement, at that time.

"Following its approval, the Concorde Implementation Agreement came into force and this sum was paid to the FIA and properly accounted for. No individual received any payment out of this sum. Any allegation to the contrary would be defamatory."