Ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone spared prison after pleading guilty to £400m fraud

Ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has been spared prison after agreeing to pay £652m to HMRC for failing to declare £400m of overseas assets to the government.

The billionaire was sentenced to 17 months in prison suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to fraud on Thursday.

On 7 July 2015, Ecclestone failed to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing around $650m.

Bernie Ecclestone arrives at Southwark Crown Court (PA Wire)

The court heard Ecclestone had said “no” when asked whether he had any links to further trusts “in or outside the UK” in a meeting with HMRC officers who were investigating his tax affairs. That answer was “untrue or misleading”, prosecutors said.

The tycoon had been due to stand trial for fraud in November, having previously pleaded not guilty in August. But he admitted the charge at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.

The 92-year-old arrived wearing a dark suit and grey tie supported by his third wife, Fabiana Flosi. He told the hearing: “I plead guilty”.

The court heard the former racing driver has agreed a civil settlement of £652.6m in respect of sums due to HMRC over the course of 18 years, which includes a penalty of more than £340m. He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £74,000.

Sentencing the F1 “supremo”, Mr Justice Bryan said: “Your offending is so serious that neither a fine or a community order would be appropriate. It is rightly acknowledged that the custody threshold has been passed.”

However, he said that he had taken into consideration a number of mitigating factors, including Ecclestone’s health, age, and that he has no previous criminal convictions.

Before his guilty plea, Ecclestone made a bid to dismiss proceedings by claiming “unpopular remarks” he made about Russian president Vladimir Putin on daytime television were the reason for the prosecution, rather than “legitimate public interest”.

Ecclestone was “seeking to a draw a line under investigations into his tax affairs”, the court heard (PA)

In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Bryan said the elderly billionaire had lied to HMRC investigators. He told the defendant: “Towards the end of the meeting you were asked if, since the conclusion of the previous investigation in 2008, and excluding the trusts referred to so far in the course of the meeting, whether you were linked as a settlor or beneficiary to any other trust in or outside the United Kingdom.

“You replied ‘no’. That was a lie. You were in fact linked to a trust structure known as the ‘Kinan Trust’ and another known as the ‘Nanki Trust’.”

He added that the prosecution had given careful consideration to the public interest in pursuing the fraud case, given Ecclestone’s age and health, including considering evidence from the businessman’s cardiologist.

The judge also said he accepted that the sizeable settlement figure agreed with HMRC reflected “remorse” and showed Ecclestone’s determination to address his offending.

Ecclestone’s defence barrister, Christine Montgomery KC, said her client “bitterly regrets the events that led to this criminal trial”.

In 2014, Ecclestone agreed to pay £60m to bring an end to a bribery trial in Germany. As a result of that investigation, HMRC opened a tax fraud investigation into the former racing chief, who has three grown-up daughters, Deborah, Tamara and Petra, and a young son, Ace.

Before his guilty plea, Ecclestone claimed ‘unpopular remarks’ he made about Vladimir Putin were the reason for the prosecution (Getty)

Ecclestone enjoyed a career as one of the most prominent people in global motorsport after he ran Formula One from the late 1970s until 2017. His current net worth is estimated at $2.9bn (£2.1bn), according to Forbes.

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC told the court that Ecclestone was “seeking to a draw a line under investigations into his tax affairs” at the meeting with HMRC on 7 July 2015, adding: “He was fed up of paying huge bills for advice.”

The court heard Ecclestone had answered “no” when asked by HMRC officers whether he had any links to further trusts “in or outside the UK”.

Mr Wright added: “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.”

Ecclestone, pictured with Lewis Hamilton (Getty)

Investigators said Ecclestone had “ample time” to be honest about his tax affairs.

Speaking outside court after the tycoon was sentenced, Richard Las, director of the fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: “Bernie Ecclestone has had ample time and numerous opportunities to take responsibility and be honest with HMRC about his tax affairs.

“Instead of taking these opportunities he lied to HMRC, and as a result we opened a criminal investigation. This investigation has involved inquiries around the world and culminated with today’s trial.

“Today Bernie Ecclestone pleaded guilty to fraud.

“As you know, he has now been sentenced. As well as the sentence he has made a payment of £650m in relation to his tax affairs. Over £340m of that amount is a penalty, so a very significant amount.”

Leaving the court, Ecclestone was asked for comment, but his response was unclear as he smiled and nodded and climbed into a waiting white Range Rover.