Champion jockey Frankie Dettori remainssaddled in debt, despite the liquidation of most of his assets to settle a tax avoidance scheme. He ended up with a £765,000 tax bill, the aftermath of poor financial advice by previous advisers. He was made bankrupt in March 2025.
The Italian jockey was due to be discharged from bankruptcy on 17 March. However, an application was forwarded by trustees requesting an extension of the bankruptcy for one more year. The reason behind this is that Dettori has allegedly not complied with providing information about his assets, including alleged properties he may own abroad.
It appears the request was granted, with Nicholas Briggs, chief insolvency and companies court judge, ruling that the bankruptcy would remain in force until 16 March 2027. He added that it was not unrealistic and would be more than enough time for the 55-year-old jockey to comply with the information requested from him.
'There is much to uncover in this bankruptcy, and it may well be that criminal sanctions will be a useful tool for the trustees,' Briggs stated in a report byThe Mirror.
Already getting some reprieve, it would be best for Dettori to cooperate and get things out in the open. Although he stated in December that he did not own properties abroad, there were allegedly properties in France and Italy that were not disclosed to trustees.
Other than properties, there are other assets in question. That includes:
Given these unaccounted-for assets, the best Dettori could have done was attend the hearing personally to make representations. He could have also instructed his lawyers to do so on his behalf. However, just like his alleged withholding of information, nothing was done.
This development comes months after HM Revenue & Customs grew suspicious that Dettori was setting up a company fortax avoidance reasons. HMRC claims that Frankie Dettori Limited and an associate company, Newmarket Activities Limited, were involved in avoiding taxes before they were voluntarily liquidated,The Telegraphreported.
The two companies ceased operations in October 2024. Frankie Dettori Limited owed HMRC about £765,542 while Newmarket Activities Limited racked up £765,774. It remains unclear if the amounts owed by the two companies were the entire sum owed to HMRC.
The tax woes of Dettori are unfortunate and mark a sour shift from a decorated career. He has won every British Classic at least twice and was hailed as British champion three times.
Source: International Business Times UK
