Singapore F1 tycoon pleads guilty over corruption scandal

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F1 tycoon pleads guilty over corruption scandal

F1 tycoon and Singapore-based billionaire Ong Beng Seng plead guilty

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 4 August 2025 20:57

Singapore-based billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng has pleaded guilty to a charge of abetting the obstruction of justice.

The 79-year-old is responsible for bringing F1 to Singapore in 2008 and is the managing director of Hotel Properties Ltd — which includes brands such as the Four Seasons and Marriott — with an estimated worth of $1billion.

Ong also helped the Singapore Grand Prix secure an extension to host the race through to 2028, with the race becoming a staple on the F1 calendar in the past two decades.

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Recently, Ong has admitted to abetting the obstruction of justice by helping ex-transportation minister Subramaniam Iswaran cover up evidence while he was being investigated for corruption.

Iswaran received expensive gifts from Ong, including an all-expenses paid trip with a private jet ride, while they were engaged in official business.

Ministers in Singapore must declare anything they receive from people they have business dealings, and must pay the market value of the gift to the government.

Ong Beng Seng pleads guilty in corruption scandal

Ong will be sentenced on August 15, and originally faced up to two years in jail but his poor health meant a fine should be imposed instead of a jail sentence, with the prosecution saying "judicial mercy" should be exercised.

The billionaire has a rare bone marrow cancer, and the court has previously allowed him to travel abroad for medical and work purposes.

Prosecutors argued that while Ong was instrumental in Iswaran's attempt to cover his tracks, he was much less culpable than the sitting minister.

Ong and Iswaran were arrested in July 2023 and charge sheets revealed that Iswaran was gifted more than S$403,000 (£234,586) worth of flights, hotel stays, musicals and grand prix tickets.

Furthermore, at the time of the offences the 63-year-old was also in the government's F1 steering committee and the chief negotiator on F1-related business matters.

Hotel Properties Ltd confirmed earlier in April that Ong would step down as the company's managing director to 'manage his medical conditions'.

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