Tamara Ecclestone reveals she suspects £25m Kensington mansion burglary was likely an 'inside job'
Tamara Ecclestone, the socialite and daughter of ex-Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, has opened up about the £25 million burglary at her Kensington home, saying she doesn't see "how it's not" partly and inside job. The 40 year old was holidaying in Lapland with her husband Jay Rutland, their daughter and dog when the six-floor property was raided on December 13, 2019.
The thieves made off with hundreds of items including jewellery, cash, diamonds and precious stones, making it one of the biggest domestic burglaries in UK history. Italian nationals Jugoslav Jovanovic, Alessandro Maltese and Alessandro Donati - who were also involved in raids on Frank Lampard's home and that of late Leicester City FC owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha - were later jailed in November 2021 for the crime.
However, suspect Daniel Vukovic fled to Belgrade after the raid, prompting Tamara to offer a £250,000 reward for information leading to his capture and a further £6 million if her belongings are recovered.
READ MORE:Huge pop star getting married to long-term love today surrounded by showbiz pals
READ MORE:Pete Wicks reveals heavily-strapped feet during cigarette break ahead of Strictly performance
Another man, Ljubomir Romanov, was charged with money laundering offences in Serbia in June, offences believed to be linked to the 2019 raids. Speaking to the Sunday Times, Tamara said: "The biggest letdown really is that the (other) people who did it will probably never be extradited to the UK. I think it is worse getting caught and then nothing actually happening to them."
Saying she also "felt violated" after the crime, Tamara added: "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."
She added that the burglary made her feel that "things aren’t always as they appear".
On the reality disappointing reality of losing trust, she said: "People you think you can trust, you can’t always trust, which is a lesson I’ve learnt time and time again," before adding, "This time it really hit home."
When probed about whether the robbery might have involved someone with access to her home, she hinted to the newspaper, "I’m not really allowed to speak about that but I don’t see how it’s not."
