Bernie Ecclestone Arrested in Portugal for Shotgun on Private Jet

Bernie Ecclestone, the former Formula 1 supremo who once ruled the sport with an iron grip, has reportedly been arrested in Portugal for carrying a shotgun on his private jet – the second time in four years he has been detained over a firearm.

The 95-year-old British billionaire is said to have been stopped at Tires Aerodrome in Cascais, just outside Lisbon, after landing his jet. Local outlet Correio de Manha reported that airport officers detained Ecclestone during what was described as a routine operation.

He was allegedly found in possession of a shotgun, though Portuguese authorities have so far offered only fragmented confirmation of the incident.

Confusion Over Who Made the Arrest

Portugal’s Airport Division of the Public Security Police (PSP) has not formally detailed the circumstances. A PSP spokesman distanced the force’s border control unit from the case, saying its officers had not made the arrest attributed to them.

The PSP later stated that the matter “concerns an occurrence involving the Tax and Customs Authority – Lisbon Delegation (Customs),” effectively passing responsibility for any further clarification to that body. Customs officials have yet to comment publicly.

For now, it remains unclear whether Ecclestone will face charges or appear before a judge in Portugal.

Echoes of Brazil Gun Case in 2022

The episode instantly revives memories of Ecclestone’s run‑in with the law in Brazil in 2022.

Four years ago, he was detained at Campinas airport near São Paulo after security staff discovered a gun in his luggage as he prepared to board a private jet bound for Switzerland. Brazilian authorities announced that a businessman had been arrested for possession of a firearm, without naming him, but Ecclestone later acknowledged he was the man involved.

He admitted carrying the weapon yet claimed he did not realise it was in his luggage at the time. After paying bail, he was released and allowed to continue his journey to Switzerland.

Ecclestone went on to dismiss the incident as a “silly, tiny little incident”, though he conceded it had caused significant aggravation as he tried to fly back to Europe with his family. He also insisted he had not been “formally” arrested, despite the statement from Brazilian officials.

The gun in question, an LW Seecamp .32, had been bought years earlier in Brazil from a Formula One mechanic, Ecclestone said, without any ammunition. He described it as something he carried purely as a deterrent.

“They said you need something like this. It might work if someone tried to mug you or something,” he recalled. He admitted he kept it at home and occasionally joked around with it when visitors came by.

A Life Split Across Continents

Ecclestone, who transformed Formula 1 into a global commercial powerhouse before stepping aside as chief executive in 2017, now divides his time between Switzerland and Portugal and also owns property in Brazil. His ties to Portugal run deep in sporting terms as well: he played a central role in bringing Formula 1 back to the country in 1984.

Even in his mid‑90s, he remains a headline figure, his movements and legal entanglements still watched closely in the countries where he lives and works.

Legal Shadow From Financial Case

The reported arrest in Portugal comes not long after another major legal episode in Ecclestone’s later life.

In 2022, he agreed to pay £652 million after failing to declare overseas assets. The case centred on a trust in Singapore that held a bank account containing around £400 million. Ecclestone pleaded guilty to a single charge of fraud by false representation.

He avoided immediate jail time but received a 17‑month prison sentence, suspended for two years, underlining the scale of the case even for a man long accustomed to operating at the very top of global business.

Now, with questions swirling again over a firearm found around his private travel, the man who once controlled every lever of Formula 1’s power structure faces another uncomfortable examination of his life away from the paddock.