Former Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone pleaded guilty to fraud after failing to declare more than £400million of overseas assets to the UK government.
Ecclestone, 92, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday morning. The British billionaire failed to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing $650m (US) - worth around £400m at the time - in July 2015.
Ecclestone was sentenced to 17 months in prison suspended for two years. The court also heard that he's agreed a civil settlement of £652,634,836 in respect of sums due to HMRC. His defence Christine Montgomery KC told judge Justice Bryan 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".
Ecclestone has pleaded guilty to fraud after failing to declare more than £400million of overseas assets (Kin Cheung/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Ecclestone has three grown-up daughters in Deborah, Tamara and Petra, as well as his young son Ace. "I plead guilty," said Ecclestone while standing in the well of the court wearing a dark suit and grey tie. He had been due to go on trial next month.
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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.
Ecclestone was in charge of F1 for decades and remains a vocal figure within the sport (Getty Images)"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 was charged with a single count of fraud following an investigation by HMRC into his finances. HMRC has described the lengthy probe as "complex and worldwide". He initially pleaded not guilty to the charge in June before changing his plea.
Ecclestone, who turns 93 later this month, was supported at court on Thursday morning by his third wife Fabiana Flosi. The court heard that Ecclestone saved around £100,000 in legal fees by ending the case. Mr Wright added: "One could argue there's been no savings because the discovery of the lie has led to significant expenditure in legal fees."
Ecclestone was in charge of F1 for decades and remains a vocal figure within the sport. He stepped down as chief executive of the Formula One Group - the group of companies responsible for the promotion of F1 - in 2017 after its sale to Liberty Media.
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