Former Honda Racing boss Havier Beltran was sacked after failing to report overpayments of more than £160,000 to his bank account
Former Honda Racing boss Havier Beltran was dismissed from his role last year for gross misconduct on the grounds of dishonesty after failing to notify bosses that he had mistakenly received overpayments of more than £160,000 to his bank account.
He made a complaint of unfair and wrongful dismissal in November 2025 after being sacked from his role on September 10, 2025.
A hearing was held at Lincoln Magistrates Court on Wednesday, May 13 this year. A reserved judgment was sent to the parties involved on August 25, dismissing both complaints which were deemed to be not well-founded.
Payments of more than £160,000 were made by Honda Motor Europe Ltd to Beltran’s bank account incorrectly between April 2025 and September 2025.
Employment judge M Siddique said there had been a “deliberate and sustained choice” by Beltran over several months when he did not inform anyone of the additional payments, which he transferred to another personal bank account.
It was reported that Beltran sent the money to a different account to “to keep it distinct from his own funds” and that he “always intended to return the money”.
Beltran said there was confusion because of changes to the company credit card and claimed he believed the company’s finance system would correct the payments.
He argued that he did not report the payments due to a combination of factors, including his workload, which required extensive travel and long working hours.
Beltran said with hindsight that he should have “raised the issue at an earlier stage”.
Whilst it could not be established that he intended to keep the money, he was dismissed by Honda for gross misconduct because of his failure to notify the company of the overpayments, which amounted to dishonesty.