Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Bernie Ecclestone pleads guilty to fraud charge after failing to declare over £400M of overseas assets

by October 12, 2023
October 12, 2023
Bernie Ecclestone pleads guilty to fraud charge after failing to declare over £400M of overseas assets

Bernie Ecclestone, the former boss of Formula One, has admitted fraud after failing to declare more than £400m held in a trust in Singapore.

The 92-year-old billionaire did not disclose the trust to the government in July 2015.

Appearing at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, he told the judge “I plead guilty” after having previously pleaded not guilty.

Ecclestone had been due to go on trial next month.

The charge stated Ecclestone, who has three grown-up daughters, Deborah, Tamara and Petra, and a young son, Ace, 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’.

Before his guilty plea, he had been due to face trial in November on the single fraud charge.

Prosecutors say he declared “only a single trust” to tax authorities, which was established on behalf of his daughter.

According to the charge, he had told HMRC he was “not the settlor nor beneficiary of any trust in or outside the UK”.

But Ecclestone was charged when investigators uncovered evidence he stood to gain from the arrangement.

The court heard Ecclestone had 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.

‘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.’

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 charge against him was authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in July last year following an investigation by HMRC, which said the probe had been ‘complex and worldwide’.

The court heard Ecclestone has agreed a civil settlement of £652,634,836 in respect of sums due to HMRC.

Former racing car driver Ecclestone oversaw Formula One from the late 1970s until 2017.

He was also co-owner of Queens Park Rangers from 2007 to 2011 with Flavio Briatore.

The Sunday Times Rich List ranks Ecclestone, who has been married three times, as the 65th wealthiest person in the country, with an estimated net worth of £2.5billion.

Ecclestone started as a manager for driver Stuart Lewis Evans before working his way up to becoming the head o the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) and then Forumla One Management (FOM) – earning him 50 per cent of the revenue earned by F1.

He eventually sold his ownership of F1 to Liberty Media for £6.4bn in 2016.

Read more:
Bernie Ecclestone pleads guilty to fraud charge after failing to declare over £400M of overseas assets

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
myenergi lands £30m investment from Energy Impact Partners to drive growth and internationalisation
next post
Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal urges Muslims, globally, to protest Israel and join the fight

You may also like

Frasers Group snaps up luxury clothing website Matches...

December 21, 2023

Construction skills ‘crisis’ as new figures reveal just...

June 22, 2023

Eco-Friendly Lawn Care: How to Keep Your Grass...

June 10, 2024

CapitalRise secures £250m bank funding line to further...

January 15, 2024

Somerset-based family cheese maker expands globally with £30M...

November 3, 2022

2022’s Top Rated South African Casinos with the...

August 9, 2022

Security Minister warns of deepfake cyber risk at...

April 18, 2024

New orders deliver boost to UK service sector

April 6, 2023

AI could revolutionise the UK’s careers advice sector

December 20, 2024

Secrets of Success: Verity Batchelder, co-founder, Good Life...

May 22, 2023

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump ally stands firm against ‘big, beautiful bill’ despite pressure: ‘It’ll completely backfire’

      June 8, 2025
    • Rubio condemns assassination attempt on Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe

      June 8, 2025
    • Obama WH physician says Biden doc should have performed cognitive test

      June 8, 2025
    • Trump warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Elon Musk funds Democrats

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,571)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved