Former Formula 1 driver Adrian Sutil has been arrested in connection with allegations of fraud, according to a report from German publication BILD.
The report states that the German driver is being held in pre-trial detention in a prison in Baden-Württemberg after being arrested by Stuttgart State criminal police officers and facing a judge in Stuttgart district court. The judge ordered Sutil into custody.
"Several premises were searched together with the Baden-Württemberg State Criminal Police Office," a spokesman for the Stuttgart public prosecutor’s office said after raids took place in Monaco, Switzerland and Sindelfingen (Baden-Württemberg).
"According to investigators, he is suspected of 'aggravated joint fraud and joint embezzlement'," the report added.
This is not the first time that Sutil has had a run-in with the law. The 42-year-old was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a €200,000 fine for assault causing grievous bodily harm after an incident following the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix. The fine was donated to a charity of the court's choosing.
Sutil struck Genii Capital CEO and Lotus F1 team owner Eric Lux with a broken champagne glass in a nightclub in Shanghai, China. Lux sustained a wound to his neck, which required 24 stitches. Sutil apologised for the incident, describing it as unintentional.
After initially appealing the assault conviction, Sutil withdrew the appeal in March 2012. "I am very happy that I have been able to express myself to Eric Lux and don't have to go to court again," Sutil said at the time. "I don't want to have to go through another year like the one past. The topic is finished and I want to resume doing what I do best as quickly as possible -- racing in Formula 1."
Sutil raced in F1 between 2007 and 2011 and again in 2013 and 2014 for Spyker, Force India and Sauber. Over 128 race starts, he failed to secure a podium finish but collected 124 points and one fastest lap. He also held the role of reserve driver with Williams in 2015.
He has since raced in the Ferrari Challenge Europe in 2022 and 2023 with Grohm Motorsport.
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