A man accused of being involved in one of the UK’s biggest burglaries when jewellery was stolen from Tamara Ecclestone’s London mansion has been arrested in Serbia.
The suspect, aged in his 50s, was held along with five other men in Belgrade on suspicion of money laundering on Wednesday.
Ecclestone’s home was raided on December 13 2019 while she was in Lapland with her husband, the art gallery owner, Jay Rutland, their daughter and their dog.
Jewellery, cash and gems worth £25 million were taken from their Kensington home, with three members of the burglary gang, that is believed to have carried out similar crimes against high-profile victims across Europe, jailed in 2021.
Italian nationals Jugoslav Jovanovic, Alessandro Maltese and Alessandro Donati were found to have taken part in the raid, along with two other burglaries at the homes of ex-England footballer Frank Lampard and the late owner of Leicester City football club, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
One suspect, Daniel Vukovic, fled to Belgrade in the wake of the raid and Ecclestone offered £250,000 for information leading to his capture, as well as a £6 million reward if her belongings are recovered.
The Metropolitan Police did not name the arrested man, but said: “Six people have been arrested in Serbia as part of an international money laundering investigation involving Met officers.
“One of the men, aged in his 50s, was wanted by detectives investigating a series of high value burglaries committed in Kensington and Chelsea in December 2019.
“The men were arrested in Belgrade by Serbian authorities on Wednesday December 20, supported by the Met and the National Crime Agency.”
