Socialite Tamara Ecclestone has said she believes the £25 million burglary at her home five years ago was partly an inside job, adding: “I don’t see how it’s not.”
Ms Ecclestone, 40, the daughter of ex-Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, was on holiday in Lapland with her husband, art gallery owner Jay Rutland, their daughter and their dog when their mansion in Palace Green, Kensington, was raided on December 13 2019.
Hundreds of items of jewellery, cash, diamonds and precious stones worth £25 million were stolen from the 2,000 square-foot property, which is spread over six floors, in what is believed to have been the country’s biggest ever domestic burglary.
Italian nationals Jugoslav Jovanovic, Alessandro Maltese and Alessandro Donati – who also took part in raids on the homes of former Chelsea FC midfielder and manager Frank Lampard and the late Leicester City FC owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha – were jailed in November 2021.
One suspect, Daniel Vukovic, fled to Belgrade in the wake of the raid and Ms Ecclestone offered £250,000 for information leading to his capture, as well as a £6 million reward if her belongings are recovered.
Another man accused of being involved in the burglaries, Ljubomir Romanov, was charged with money laundering offences – understood to be linked to the 2019 raids – in Serbia in June.
“The biggest letdown really is that the (other) people who did it will probably never be extradited to the UK,” Ms Ecclestone told the Sunday Times.
“I think it is worse getting caught and then nothing actually happening to them.”
People you think you can trust, you can’t always trust, which is a lesson I’ve learnt time and time again
“I just felt violated,” she continued.
“We thought about moving, or moving country, but then I thought, actually, this is my house and, before this happened, this has been such a happy place.”
Ms Ecclestone said the burglary made her feel that “things aren’t always as they appear”.
“People you think you can trust, you can’t always trust, which is a lesson I’ve learnt time and time again,” she said. “This time it really hit home.”
Asked if she believes it was partly an inside job, she told the newspaper: “I’m not really allowed to speak about that but I don’t see how it’s not.”
