SINGAPORE: An independent review of Singapore’s Formula 1 race deal found no irregularities, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said on Wednesday (Oct 15).
The review committee, convened by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in 2024, assessed that the government was “diligent, rigorous, and careful” in approaching the F1 project, Mr Gan said.
“For instance, the government appointed external legal counsel to vet the facilitation agreement to ensure that the government’s interests were sufficiently protected,” he noted in a written parliamentary reply.
Mr Gan was responding to a question by MP Edward Chia (PAP-Holland-Bukit Timah), who asked for an update on the progress of the review of the F1 contract.
In 2024, Mr Gan issued a ministerial direction for STB to convene an independent review committee to review the terms of its current contract with Singapore GP for the Singapore Grand Prix 2022 to 2028. The contract is currently in its fourth term.
“The review committee was satisfied that the government’s interests were sufficiently safeguarded and that the terms of the deal constituted a fair and reasonable exchange of commercial obligations and benefits between the government and Singapore GP,” said Mr Gan.
The economic benefits to Singapore from the deal outweighed the costs, and foreign visitorship and incremental tourism receipts that the country received from hosting F1 exceeded targets, he added.
“The review committee assessed that the Singapore Grand Prix continued to grow in relevance and importance to Singapore, and hosting the F1 race continued to elevate Singapore’s international branding. The races in Term 4 have thus far performed well.”
Mr Gan also said the committee identified ways to enhance the existing processes between STB and Singapore GP to further safeguard the government’s interests, as well as areas of improvement for any future renewal of the F1 project.
The report of the review committee will not be published due to business confidentiality.
In 2024, Mr Gan said in a written parliamentary reply that STB’s audit of the disbursement of grants and procurement matters relating to F1 from 2019 to 2022 found that the board’s internal controls were satisfactory, with no significant findings.
Questions were previously raised about the F1 race deal after former Transport Minister S Iswaran was arrested in July 2023 as part of a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau probe.
Mr Iswaran had been actively involved in the government’s engagements with F1, including making appearances at press conferences where announcements about the event’s future were made.
He pleaded guilty on Sep 24, 2024, to four charges under Section 165 of the Penal Code, which forbids all public servants from obtaining any valuable thing from someone involved with them in an official capacity.
Mr Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months’ jail on Oct 3, 2024, for obtaining gifts worth about S$403,300 (US$313,200) over seven years. He has since completed his home detention.
