Bernie Ecclestone has appeared in court to deny a fraud charge over allegations he failed to declare £400m of overseas assets.
The 91-year-old former Formula 1 boss appeared at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday (22.08.22) and pleaded not guilty to a charge of fraud by false representation between July 13 of 2013 and October 5, 2016 related to claims. did not declare a trust to have been established in Singapore.
During the hearing, prosecutor Robert Simpson told the court: “This charge arises out of an investigation by HMRC into Mr Ecclestone’s finances.
“This would have allowed him to enter into a structural disclosure mechanism that would have drawn a line under any previous tax irregularities.
“During this investigation he was asked about overseas trusts with which he was involved.
“The Crown has based this charge on the basis that it failed to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing approximately US$650 million.”
Ecclestone was granted unconditional bail ahead of his next appearance at Southwark Crown Court in London on September 19.
Simon York, the head of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, previously said of the case in July: “We can confirm that a fraud charge of false representation has been authorized against Bernard Ecclestone. “This follows an investigation complex and global criminal by HMRC Fraud. Research Service. The criminal charge relates to anticipated tax liabilities arising from more than £400m of offshore assets which were hidden from HMRC. “HMRC stands by honest taxpayers and will take tough action whenever we suspect tax fraud. Our message is clear: no one is beyond our reach. “We remind people to refrain from commenting or sharing information that could harm procedures in any way. This is now a matter for the courts and we will not comment further.”
Ecclestone was head of Formula 1 for 40 years until he was ousted as chief executive in 2017.
