Williams Oakes, brother of former Alpine F1 team principal Oliver Oakes, was arrested on May 1.

According to the Metropolitan Police, he was found with “a large amount of cash” and charged with transferring criminal property.

William and Oliver Oakes are both directors of Hitech Grand Prix, the latter holding at least 75 percent of the operation according to company documents.

With William Oakes in custody, Michael Sanwell-Lewis has now been appointed a director.

Sanwell-Lewis has been the group financial controller at Hitech since March last year, after working as its finance manager since mid-2016.

Despite the arrest of Oakes, Hitech has continued to compete, taking the lead of the British F4 teams’ standings the weekend before last.

In addition to British F4, Hitech also fields entries in GB3, F1 Academy, Formula 3, and Formula 2.

It has fielded the likes of Liam Lawson in Formula 3 in 2020, as well as others such as Marcus Armstrong, Isack Hadjar.

It has also worked with a number of drivers who were or remain part of various F1 academy programs, including Alex Dunne (McLaren), Gabriele Mini (Alpine), Dennis Hauger (Red Bull), Jak Crawford (Aston Martin).

Williams junior Luke Browning currently competes with the squad in Formula 2, alongside Dino Beganovic, who is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy.

Hitech confirm F1 entry bid, stake sold to Kazakh businessman

The operation was founded in 2015 by Oliver Oakes, who has remained a constant throughout its existence.

That included a period when the squad was heavily linked with Nikita Mazepin’s fledgling career.

In 2017, Fungosa Management Limited assumed 75 percent or more of the ownership shares.

Registered in Cyprus, Fungosa Management Limited, holds trademarks associated with Dmitry Mazepin, father of Nikita.

That shareholding moved from Fungosa to Uralkali Capital, and Bergton Management Limited, all of which are connected to Mazepin, before reverting to Hitech Global Holdings Limited in March, 2022.

Last year, as Oliver Oakes was named team principal at Alpine, he became a personal with significant control of the business, with 75 percent or more shares in the team.

It’s believed he remains in Dubai after resigning from his position with Alpine last week.