Former Transport Minister of Singapore, Subramaniam Iswaran, is currently facing jail time of up to seven years or a fine of nearly $75,000 (S$100,000) for receiving bribes worth around S$ 385,000 ($286,000) during his tenure. The bribes came through Property Tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who is also the Chairman of the Singapore Grand Prix. In exchange for the bribes, Iswaran handed out Singapore GP tickets to his accomplices to further the business interest of Seng, as reported by The Star.
Despite the clear involvement of Seng, the billionaire businessman remains clear of any controversy, with Iswaran standing as the lone criminal. Away from using F1 tickets as favors, the Minister faces 26 additional charges, including tickets to soccer matches, fights, musicals, and flights on Beng Seng’s private plane. Several charges also fall under the bracket of obstructing the course of justice.
Soon after the news broke, Iswaran issued a letter of resignation, stepping down from the Minister’s post and also stepping away from his role as Advisor to the Singapore GP Steering Committee. However, in the same letter, the 61-year-old claimed he rejected all the charges and will start working on clearing his name.
Beng Seng’s office refrained from answering any emails over the matter, especially given the local authorities arrested him on similar grounds last year. However, there were no firm charges on the businessman.
Singapore is a country that takes immense pride in its law and order and boasts of a squeaky-clean government. There haven’t been many cases of government employees finding themselves in the middle of scandals or controversies. Given the last corruption case involving a minister in the country happened back in 1986, the case has a tight grip over all of Singapore.
Which Singapore F1 GP tickets did Iswaran receive?
While one would think Iswaran only handed out a handful of tickets, the exact scale of things is much larger. Between 2016 and 2022, the former Minister allegedly received 36 Green Room Tickets, 5 Boardwalk Tickets, 14 Twenty3 Tickets, and 61 General Admission Tickets for only the Singapore GP races.
Apart from the tickets, Iswaran received gratification from Beng Seng for bringing F1 to Singapore in 2022. As part of the same, he flew from Singapore to Doha in Seng’s private plane, with the trip costing $7800. He stayed in Four Seasons Doha for one night, which cost an additional $3500. The return flight saw Iswaran fly in business class worth nearly $4300.
