Bernie Ecclestone, the former head of Formula One, has admitted to fraud after withholding more than £400m held in a trust in Singapore. Ecclestone did not disclose the trust when asked by tax authorities if he had wealth overseas. The billionaire has agreed to reimburse HM Revenues and Customs with £653m in a civil settlement, the court was told. Originally, Ecclestone had pleaded not guilty and was due to stand trial next month. However, following his guilty plea, he is now awaiting sentence.
Ecclestone arrived at Southwark Crown Court with his wife Fabiana and only spoke to the judge to admit his guilt and confirm basic details. The defendant was charged due to a tax investigation by HMRC, which was noted to be “complex and worldwide.” It is claimed that Ecclestone had only declared one trust to tax authorities which was created on behalf of his daughter. In response, Ecclestone had told HMRC that he was “not the settlor nor beneficiary of any trust in or outside the UK.” However, he was charged when textit{investigators uncovered} evidence that he would benefit from the arrangement.
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said: “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 recognizes 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 expected to be sentenced in due course.
The 92-year old’s role in Formula One has left a significant impact. He built the sport into one of the world’s most profitable competitions during his tenure as its commercial overseer. Ecclestone has since sold his shares in Formula One to the US firm Liberty Media for just over $4bn. Having been involved in a number of controversial issues throughout his tenure, Ecclestone’s reputation has been under scrutiny repeatedly
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