Former Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes’s brother, William Oakes, was arrested for having “possession of a large amount of cash.” Oliver Oakes resigned from his post after the arrest as the Miami GP weekend came to an end.
The Metropolitan Police arrested Oliver Oakes brother, William Oakes, at Silverstone Park last Thursday. They charged Oakes with “transferring criminal property” and remanded him in police custody. Both Oakes brothers are directors of Hitech Grand Prix, according to Company House. Oliver Oakes flew to Dubai after the Miami GP, according to the Telegraph.
Metropolitan Police told The Telegraph, “William Oakes, 31, of Rugby was charged with transferring criminal property on Friday, May 2 after he was stopped in the Silverstone Park area in Northamptonshire on Thursday, May 1, 2025 in possession of a large amount of cash. He appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, May 3, and remanded in custody.”
Oliver Oakes leaving Alpine
Oliver Oakes resigned as Alpine Team principal, ahead of Franco Colapinto’s announcement to take Jack Doohan’s seat. Many theorized Oakes left Team Enstone disagreeing with the driver swap. However, Flavio Briatore cleared up these rumors on a social media post.
“A lot has been said in the past 24 hours, incorrectly associating the decision of Oli resigning to an alleged disagreement or that we shared different views,” Briatore shared.
“This is completely false and far from the truth. Me and Oli have a very good relationship and had long-term ambitions to drive this team forward together. We respect Oli’s request to resign and have therefore accepted his resignation. The reasons are not related to the team and are of a personal nature.”
“I will continue to be more and more involved with the team, together with the strong management we already have in place. We will work hard on improving our position this season and preparing for 2026.”
Hitech’s ownership
Oliver Oakes owns Hitech Grand Prix after Bergton Management Ltd. owner, Dmitry Mazepin relinquished his 75% ownership to Oakes in 2022. Mazepin relinquished his ownership after the UK and EU sanctioned him following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Oakes said in 2022 it was “always part of the strategic plan for Bergton Management to exit Hitech in early 2022 and myself to own Hitech fully”. However, the UK Parliament had questions about Hitech’s ownership.
Labour MP Liam Byrne noted, “There does not seem to have been any cash paid out for this major economic interest in a globally significant grand prix company,”. The Labour MP added there was “a clear risk that oligarchs are using proxies, and that this misbehaviour is washing up on our shores and in Companies House”.
