A contract to hold the Formula 1 race in Singapore for another seven years was signed in 2022. This marked the deal’s fourth renewal and its longest extension.
However, in light of the charges then faced by former Transport Minister S Iswaran, the government said in February 2024 that it was reviewing the terms of the night race deal.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) was also asked to conduct an audit of the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix.
In a parliamentary session last November, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said STB had completed the audit covering the disbursement of grants and procurement matters relating to F1 from 2019 to 2022.
The audit concluded that STB’s internal controls were satisfactory, with no significant findings. Mr Gan added that the review of the F1 contracts between the government and Singapore GP is still ongoing.
Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months’ jail on Oct 3, 2024 for obtaining gifts worth about S$403,300 (US$313,200) from two businessmen he considered his friends and obstructing justice.
One of those businessmen was Ong Beng Seng, a 78-year-old Malaysian property tycoon who is often credited with bringing F1 to Singapore.
Iswaran was the chairman of Singapore’s F1 Steering Committee and dealt with Ong and his company.
Ong faces two charges in relation to Iswaran – one of allegedly abetting Iswaran in obtaining an all-expenses paid trip to Doha worth about S$20,850 in December 2022.
He is also accused of intentionally aiding Iswaran in May 2023, when the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau had caught wind of the case, to pay S$5,700 to Singapore GP for a business class flight ticket from Doha to Singapore over the same trip.
The first pre-trial conference for Ong was held last year.
