Ex-Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has been spared a jail term after he pleaded guilty to hiding £400 million of overseas assets from the British government.
The 92-year-old billionaire tycoon concealed the existence of a trust in Singapore when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) investigators were probing his tax affairs.
After being charged with fraud, Ecclestone vowed to fight the case at trial. However at Southwark crown court on Thursday, following a year of legal wrangling, he changed his plea to guilty.
Speaking from the well of the court, behind his team of lawyers, Ecclestone said: “I plead guilty.”
The court heard Ecclestone has now paid a penalty of more than £652 million to HMRC to bring the investigation against him to a close.
Mr Justice Bryan sentenced Ecclestone to 17 months in prison, but agreed to suspend the sentence for the next two years.
He said Ecclestone was guilty of “manipulation” of the tax investigation, but not of knowingly seeking to dodge tax.
“There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation as demonstrated by your efforts to settle your tax affairs”, he said.
The judge acknowledged Ecclestone’s health and age, and added: “Immediate custody would result in significant harmful impact to your family including your young child.”
The charge of fraud by false representation relates to a showdown between Ecclestone and tax inspectors in July 2015, when he was suspected of tax fraud and quizzed about his finances.
Earlier court hearings were told Ecclestone, supported by his tax advisors, told HMRC about wealth tied up trusts – including one for daughters Tamara and Petra.
But when asked if he had access to any other trusts in the UK or abroad, Ecclestone replied: “No.”
In a basis of plea, Ecclestone said he “recognised it was wrong” to not disclose the existence of the trust, but insisted he did not know the full details of the account and its tax implications.
He said he was trying to bring the costly HMRC probe to an end, but conceded he had misled investigators.
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the investigation into Ecclestone began after a case emerged in Germany involving a suspected bribe paid by the tycoon.
He said Ecclestone, put under investigation for suspected tax fraud, faced a series of questions at a meeting on July 7, 2015, and was asked if he was the settler or beneficiary of any undeclared trusts in or outside the UK.
“Towards the end of the meeting came the question”, said the barrister. “Mr Ecclestone accepts the answer ‘no’ was misleading.”
The trust in Singapore that he failed to declare had a bank account containing approximately $650 million (£400m), the court has heard.
Mr Justice Bryan said the lie told by Ecclestone was intended to “save him legal costs by bringing it all to an end, and end what he characterised as huge costs”.
Mr Wright told the court: “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.”
Clare Montgomery KC, representing Ecclestone, said the tycoon “obviously bitterly regrets the events that have led to this criminal trial”.
“He had no intention to avoid paying tax and has always been willing to pay the tax that’s due”, she said.
“It is common ground he didn’t know the true position - he simply didn’t know the answer to HMRC’s question and he should have said ‘I don’t know’ instead of ‘no’.”
She said the case relates to an “impulsive lapse of judgement” eight years ago, and Ecclestone has been under investigation for a decade.
“He is now in frail health”, she said. “The whole process has caused immense stress to him and those who love him.”
A former racing driver, Ecclestone had control of Formula One from the 1970s until 2017, helping to build the sport’s worldwide appeal and making him one of Britain’s richest men.
He was also co-owner of Queens Park Rangers from 2007 to 2011, and reportedly turned down a knighthood in the early 2000s.
During the court hearings, it was revealed that Ecclestone paid around £250 milion in income and capital gains tax to HMRC between 1999 and 2017.
He had been set to stand trial next month, but changed his plea to guilty.
The court heard he has agreed to pay a settlement to HMRC of £652,634,836 to cover his tax affairs between 1994 and 2022.
At an application to dismiss the case, Ecclestone argued “the stress of the trial” would kill him, due to his age and heart condition.
Rejecting the application, Mr Justice Bryan pointed out Ecclestone had lived his life in the high-octane world of Formula One and he had turned up to every court hearing in his case - including some where he was not required.
“There is no real and immediate threat to the life of Mr Ecclestone by reason of the trial process”, he said.
Ecclestone has been ordered to pay £74,814 in prosecution costs.
