Billionaire Bernie Ecclestone pleaded guilty to fraud on Thursday after British prosecutors accused him of hiding hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets abroad, the latest in a line of scandals surrounding the controversial former Formula One boss.
Bernie Ecclestone pleaded guilty to fraud in London.
The 92-year-old admitted to fraud after he failed to declare a trust in Singapore that held around $650 million to British tax authorities in 2015.
“I plead guilty,” Ecclestone told a judge at Southwark Crown Court in London, according to news reports.
Ecclestone was charged with fraud by the Crown Prosecution Service last year following a “complex” investigation by Britain’s tax agency, HMRC, and the billionaire, who had previously entered a not guilty plea to the fraud charge, had been due to stand trial for the charge in November.
Prosecutors told the court Ecclestone had declared just one trust in favor of his daughters to tax officials and misled authorities when he said he had no links to others, despite not being clear himself on the ownership structures and whether they were liable for tax.
Without knowing that information, prosecutors argued Ecclestone’s answer was knowingly “untrue or misleading” and could have stopped authorities continuing any investigations into his tax affairs.
Ecclestone reportedly reached a settlement with HMRC on Monday to pay £652.6 million ($803 million) to HMRC covering 18 tax years.
$2.9 billion. That’s Ecclestone’s net worth, according to Forbes’ real time tracker.