Judge Extends Dettori Bankruptcy to March 16, 2027 Over Hidden Foreign Properties

Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Nicholas Briggs has kept Frankie Dettori, the former champion jockey, under bankruptcy restrictions until March 16, 2027 after trustees told the court he failed to co-operate with inquiries into his assets. The extension was sought by the two trustees managing Dettori’s bankruptcy and granted at a hearing described in reports as held on Thursday.

Trustee counsel Stefan Ramel told the court that the former jockey “has not complied and is still not complying” with requests for information about his assets, including whether he owns properties abroad. Dettori did not appear at the hearing and was not represented, and the trustees say their investigations have since contradicted answers given by Dettori in a December interview.

Judge Briggs described the jockey’s conduct as a “blatant failure” to provide information when asked and said the 12-month extension to March 16, 2027 “was not an unrealistic period” given what the trustees have uncovered. The judge added: “There is much to uncover in this bankruptcy, and it may well be that criminal sanctions will be a useful tool for the trustees.”

The court record, as recounted by the judge, notes that when trustees interviewed Dettori in December he “said he did not” have any history of owning properties abroad. Trustees later discovered “a number of properties that had not been disclosed to the trustees, in particular in France and Italy,” a finding central to the trustees’ case for extension. No specific addresses, valuations, or ownership documents were produced in open court at the hearing.

Dettori filed for bankruptcy in March 2025 after unpaid tax liabilities tied to his involvement in a tax avoidance scheme were brought to light. At the time of that filing Dettori said he was “saddened and embarrassed” and had been left to “unravel the mess” by a previous financial adviser. Reports have also cited concerns about his ability to meet a tax bill reported at more than £750,000, though full tax figures and trustee schedules have not been published in court filings disclosed at the hearing.

The extension keeps Dettori bound by the terms of bankruptcy in England and Wales beyond the automatic one-year termination that would otherwise apply, with the legal consequence that continued non-co-operation could expose him to criminal prosecution. The trustees, who remain unnamed in public reports, secured the court’s permission to continue their inquiries over the extended period.

Dettori’s retirement from riding was reported as taking place “last month,” and his status as a retired jockey frames the practical stakes: trustees will continue to probe property registries and financial records in the coming months to establish whether assets were concealed. The next substantive milestone for the case is the extended order’s expiry on March 16, 2027, by which time the trustees will have further time to complete their enquiries and, if necessary, pursue criminal or civil remedies.