Billionaire businessman Bernie Ecclestone has been sentenced to 17 months in jail, suspended for two years, and made a payment of more than £650m in relation to his tax affairs, covering tax, interest, and civil penalties.
The 92-year-old former Formula One motor racing boss admitted fraud by failing to declare a trust, which held assets worth more than £416m.
The investigation started more than a decade ago when HMRC began a civil tax investigation in 2012. Ecclestone was offered the chance to correct any mistakes in his tax and pay what was owed plus a penalty through a formal civil process known as a Contractual Disclosure Facility (CDF) or a ‘COP9’.
The former F1 boss said he was not the settlor or beneficiary of any offshore trust in follow up interviews with civil tax investigators in 2015. However, information provided to HMRC by the authorities in Singapore showed Ecclestone had lied.
HMRC went on to discover with support from authorities in Singapore that Ecclestone was the settlor and beneficiary of trusts, including one which held $646.45 million (£416 million) in 2010.
Eccelstone admitted a single charge of fraud by false representation during a hearing at Southwark Crown Court on 12 October, 2023.
