Bernie Ecclestone, former Formula 1 boss, admits to committing a £400m fraud in court.
Bernie Ecclestone admits to committing fraud by not disclosing over £400million worth of assets located abroad.
- Bernie Ecclestone, 92, pleads guilty to fraud after not declaring £400million
Bernie Ecclestone, the former head of Formula One, has confessed to committing fraud by not disclosing over £400 million kept in a trust in Singapore to the Government.
The 92-year-old former head of racing admitted his guilt today at Southwark Crown Court. He stood in the courtroom, dressed in a dark three-piece suit and a grey tie.
On July 7, 2015, the billionaire neglected to disclose a trust located in Singapore, which held a bank account holding approximately 650 million US dollars. This amount was valued at around £400 million during that period.
Ecclestone, who has three adult daughters named Deborah, Tamara, and Petra, as well as a young son named Ace, was accused of creating only one trust. This trust was specifically for his daughters, and aside from this trust, he was neither the creator nor recipient of any other trust within or outside the UK.
Prior to pleading guilty, he was scheduled to go on trial in November for the sole charge of fraud.
Today, Bernie Ecclestone, the former head of Formula One, is appearing at Southwark Crown Court to face allegations of committing a £400m fraud.
The charge alleged that Ecclestone ‘dishonestly’ made a representation to officers of HMRC ‘which was, and which you knew was or might have been, untrue or misleading’.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) approved the charge against him in July of the previous year after an investigation conducted by HMRC. The HMRC described the investigation as ‘complex and worldwide’.
At the time, Andrew Penhale, the chief crown prosecutor, stated: ‘After examining the evidence provided by HMRC, the CPS has approved a charge against Bernard Ecclestone for committing fraud through misrepresentation. This charge is related to his failure to disclose to HMRC the presence of assets held abroad, which are estimated to be valued at over £400 million.’
Bernie Ecclestone, a former race car driver, was in charge of managing Formula One from the late 1970s until 2017.
From 2007 to 2011, he shared ownership of Queens Park Rangers with Flavio Briatore.
Ecclestone, who has been married three times, is ranked as the 65th richest individual in the country according to The Sunday Times Rich List. It is estimated that his net worth amounts to £2.5 billion.
