Bernie Ecclestone pleads guilty to fraud

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.

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

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

Speaking in court following Ecclestone’s guilty plea, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the defendant had knowingly given an “untrue or misleading” answer to HMRC when he told them he had no further trust outside the UK.

He continued: “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.

“He now accepts that some tax is due in relation to these matters.”