Bernie Ecclestone avoids jail after pleading guilty to £400m fraud charges

12 October 2023 , 11:02

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Bernie Ecclestone has been handed a 17-month suspended jail sentence (Image: PA Wire)

Bernie Ecclestone has been handed a 17-month suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to fraud having failed to declare an estimated £400m in overseas assets to the UK government.

The former Formula 1 chief submitted the plea at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday morning having initially pleaded not guilty at a hearing in August.

Ecclestone, who turns 93 later this month, failed to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing $650m - worth around £400m at the time - in July 2015.

The court heard that Ecclestone has agreed a civil settlement of £652,634,836 in respect of sums due to HMRC. His defence barrister, Christine Montgomery KC, told judge Justice Bryan that the defendant "bitterly regrets the events that led to this criminal trial".

The charge stated that Ecclestone had "established only a single trust, that being one in favour of your daughters and other than the trust established for your daughters you were not the settlor nor beneficiary of any trust in or outside the UK.”

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Ecclestone had been due to go on trial next month.

Ms Montgomery told the court that Ecclestone is in "frail health" and the case has caused "immense stress to him and those who love him". She added: "It was not Mr Ecclestone's intention to avoid paying tax. He has always been willing to pay the tax that was due."

Ecclestone said "no" when asked by HMRC officers whether he had any links to further trusts "in or outside the UK". Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said: "That answer was untrue or misleading. Mr Ecclestone knew his answer may have been untrue or misleading.

Bernie Ecclestone (Sky Sports F1)

"As of July 7 2015, Mr Ecclestone did not know the truth of the position, so was not able to give an answer to the question. Mr Ecclestone was not entirely clear on how ownership of the accounts in question were structured.

"He therefore did not know whether it was liable for tax, interest or penalties in relation to amounts passing through the accounts. Mr Ecclestone recognises it was wrong to answer the questions he did because it ran the risk that HMRC would not continue to investigate his affairs. He now accepts that some tax is due in relation to these matters."

Ecclestone is worth an estimated $2.9bn according to Forbes. He was in charge of F1 for decades and remains a vocal figure within the sport.

He stepped down as chief executive of the Formula 1 Group - the group of companies responsible for the promotion of F1 - in 2017 after its sale to Liberty Media.

Press Association