Bernie Ecclestone pictured arriving at court for £400m fraud charge hearing

19 April 2023 , 09:44

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Bernie Ecclestone arrives at Southwark Crown Court (Image: Kin Cheung/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Bernie Ecclestone has been pictured arriving at Southwark Crown Court for a hearing before standing trial on fraud charges in October.

The billionaire, 92 later, was charged with a single count of fraud by false representation between July 13, 2013 and October 5, 2016 following an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) into his finances.

Ecclestone has denied fraud over an alleged failure to declare £400million of overseas assets to the Government. He is accused of failing to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing around 650 million US dollars.

The charge against the former Formula One supremo was authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) last year after an investigation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). He arrived at Southwark Crown Court dressed in a grey suit and grey tie and was met by photographers.

Ecclestone is due to stand trial beginning in October (Kin Cheung/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Ecclestone is on conditional bail and previously indicated at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court last August he would be entering a not guilty plea.

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At a court hearing last October, Judge Deborah Taylor fixed a trial date for October 9, 2023 with the trial expected to last up to six weeks, potentially sitting half days because of the "defendant's fitness to participate". The judge said he may not be required "to be present throughout".

Ecclestone made his name by spending decades in charge of Formula One. He Ecclestone was removed from his position as chief executive of Formula One Group in January 2017, following its takeover by Liberty Media the previous year.

However, Ecclestone remains vocal about the sport to which he dedicated much of his life. Last month, he claimed he regrets not stripping Lewis Hamilton of the 2008 Formula 1 title and handing it to the "cheated" Felipe Massa.

He also weighed in on the Red Bull cost cap saga last season, predicting a harsh punishment, and was back in the paddock at the Brazilian Grand Prix last November.

Rich Jones