The 70-year-old driver had to be taken to hospital with serious head trauma, while Babaev had only minor injuries.

Three other cars – a Bugatti Veyron, Mercedes McLaren and Porsche Cayenne Turbo – allegedly fled the scene.

There were also reports in the Swiss media that alcohol was found in Babaev’s blood when he was taken to the police station.

According to Russian radio station Echo Moskvy, the young man, who is the son of construction mogul Mekhradzh Babaev, has admitted that he is guilty of being involved in a crash, but not in a street race.

However, he added that it was nothing but an ordinary road incident, which “the newspapers transformed into an act of hooliganism.”

Following the incident, Babaev was expelled from the Swiss university he had been studying at for the past four years.

If found guilty of the charges, those involved in the road incident could face several years behind bars.