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Ex-F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone pleads guilty to tax fraud charge
The 92-year-old appeared at Southwark Crown Court and pleaded to one count of fraud by false representation.
Ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has agreed to pay more than 652 million pounds ($800 million) after pleading guilty to tax fraud in a London court on Thursday, prosecutors said.
The 92-year-old appeared at Southwark Crown Court and admitted one count of fraud by false representation, just over a month before he was due to stand trial.
Ecclestone, accompanied by his wife Fabiana, spoke only to confirm his name and to enter his plea. "I plead guilty," he said.
Ecclestone admitted giving a misleading answer to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at a July 2015 meeting, when he said he had established only a single trust in favour of his daughters and was not a beneficiary or settlor of any other trust.
"Mr Ecclestone did not know the true position and was therefore not in a position to provide a positive or negative answer," prosecutor Richard Wright said on Thursday.
He added that Ecclestone had agreed a civil settlement with HMRC, under which he will pay 652.6 million pounds covering tax, interest and penalties for 18 tax years between 1994 and 2022.
Ecclestone's lawyer Clare Montgomery told the court that Ecclestone "did not know the true position" about whether he was the beneficiary or settlor of any other trust.
"He should have said 'I don't know' rather than 'No'," Montgomery said. She added that Ecclestone's answer to HMRC was an "impulsive lapse of judgment".
