Bernie Ecclestone has admitted to fraud! Former F1 owner concealed more than 400 million but avoids jail

Former Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone has admitted failing to declare assets worth more than £400 million to the government. His offence is so serious that he should have ended up in prison, but the judge took into account mitigating circumstances.

Bernie Ecclestone, as the former owner of Formula One, pleaded guilty to the offence. According to The Independent, eight years ago he failed to declare to the authorities more than £400million he had deposited in a trust fund in Singapore.

He has denied his guilt in the past, but has now admitted to everything. As the aforementioned newspaper has already reported, Ecclestone is now trapped and virtually left with no other option. The authorities have gathered enough evidence against him.

The charges stated that Ecclestone, who has three grown daughters – Deborah, Tamara and Petra, and a young son, Ace. And it was for the benefit of his daughters that he set up this single trust.

The ninety-two-year-old billionaire was given a two-year suspended sentence by the court and notably agreed to pay £652 million in fines.

However, as Judge Bryan said in handing down the sentence, the former F1 owner’s offences are so serious that the two sentences mentioned do not fit what he has done.

Indeed, the judge acknowledged that the threshold for custody had been crossed in his case. However, he said he had taken into account a number of mitigating factors, including Ecclestone’s medical condition, age and the fact that he had no previous convictions.

Ecclestone has owned F1 since the 1970s and drove it until 2017. He then stepped down as CEO and now the commercial and marketing rights of Formula One are owned by Liberty Media.

Source: ESPN, The Independent