- Alessandro Donati, 46, was released just before Christmas and flew to Milan
One of three men who broke into the home of Tamara Ecclestone and escaped with a £26million haul has been released from jail after serving just two years.
Alessandro Donati, 46, was given an eight-year sentence in November 2021 along with Alessandro Maltese, 47, while Jugoslav Jovanovic, 26, got 11 years.
MailOnline has discovered that Donati was released just before Christmas while Maltese is expected to be released shortly.
He flew home to his native Milan in Italy on December 19 and shortly after his return police raided his home to see if any of the missing haul was hidden there.
None of the haul has ever been recovered and Scotland Yard believe it was taken to Serbia and laundered there.
Donati was arrested in October 2020 in Italy and extradited to the UK a month later.
He was kept on remand until his trial in November 2021 where he received a sentence of eight years and nine months.
His earliest release date would have been after serving half his sentence which would have taken him to March 2026 but having spent a 13 months on remand it would have moved to February 2025.
Being a foreign prisoner 12 to 18 months before that date, he would have been given the option to be deported which MailOnline understands he accepted.
However in Italy he is not subject to any restrictions as he is no longer part of the British judicial system and is free to come and go as he pleases.
His lawyer Angelo Pariani told MailOnline: ‘I can confirm my client was released from jail and retuned to Italy last month.
‘He served the sentence he should have and was freed after agreeing to be deported to Italy and he can now do as he pleases, his obligation to the judicial system is over.
‘I would imagine that Ms Ecclestone has been informed but he has no idea where the items taken are, most likely they are in Serbia, he doesn’t have anything.
‘The Italian police went to his home after his return but all they found was £120 in British banknotes and that was given to him to pay for his flight.
‘He has admitted he took part in the break-ins, but he didn’t take £26million, that is all probably in Serbia. The police won’t find anything with my client.’
The three men – all Italians – were jailed at Isleworth Crown Court in what was labelled Britain’s biggest ever burglary spree.
All three admitted their part in a plot to carry out three raids across west London over two weeks in December 2019.
The gang hit the Kensington home of socialite Tamara, as well as that of former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard and his wife Cristine and the late Leicester City chief Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
Ms Ecclestone, the daughter of F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, had around £25million worth of money and jewellery taken from her home while on a family holiday in Lapland.
In a victim impact statement read at the trial Ms Eccelstone said: ‘It’s been really awful.
‘I’m so scared, I will not leave my daughter alone in the house at night, because I just feel like the people I am meant to trust, I don’t, I’m not sure that I can trust anyone. I have just been so scared.’
Ms Ecclestone said wedding presents were among the items stolen, and that had ‘made me really sad’ and she added: ‘A lot of it was really personal, I wanted to give some of the items to my daughter one day.
‘It hasn’t been easy but I guess now it just makes me think, what if, if something worse…it has got me thinking all different kinds of things, and I’m now obsessing overs security, the gates and barbed wires, spikes and stuff and it’s not really how I want to live my life.’
In his impact statement Mr Lampard said: ‘Neither Christine nor I are sleeping too well as a consequence of this incident.
‘I would add that while I have been an unfortunate victim of crime previously, particularly burglary, this incident has had a far greater impact on our lives.’
His wife added: ‘Since this break-in at my house, I am much more fearful of being in my own home, I am less trusting of visitors to my house, and I feel unsafe in my home.
I have a young daughter and feel vulnerable in a home which I had always previously felt safe and happy in. I have struggle to sleep sometimes since the incident as I am sensitive to any noise from outside, fearing another attack.’
Mr Srivaddhanaprabha’s family said: ‘Our late father’s residence was a place for reflection and to pray.
‘We felt it was the strongest connection to him as he spent his last night there before his death.
‘Since the burglary, our sacred and special connection has been damaged and violated beyond repair.’
Last month a man accused of being involved in the burglaries was arrested in Serbia along with five others.
Mr Pariani told MailOnline his client had been asked to take part in a BBC documentary and had been offered a payment but had turned it down.
He said: ‘He doesn’t want to say anything about what happened for the time being. Maybe in the future in a year or so he will say something, he’s had offers but he has declined them.’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
