Ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone admits fraud, hid money in Singapore

Ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has avoided jail after pleading guilty to fraud over a failure to declare £400m held in a trust in Singapore to the government.

Ecclestone, who turns 93 later this month, was sentenced to 17 months in jail, suspended for two years, at Southwark Crown Court.

The billionaire has made a £652.6m payment to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) covering his tax affairs over 18 years.

He was due to face trial in November but appeared in court today wearing a dark grey suit, supported by his third wife, Fabiana Flosi, to plead guilty to a single count of fraud on 7 July 2015.

Prosecutors said Ecclestone made untrue or misleading representations to HMRC at a July 2015 meeting, when he said he "established only a single trust" in favour of his daughters Deborah, Tamara and Petra.

The court heard Ecclestone answered "no" when asked by HMRC officers whether he had any links to further trusts "in or outside the UK".

He failed to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing around $650m, worth about £400m at the time.

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said Ecclestone "knew his answer may have been untrue or misleading" but "did not know the truth of the position, so was not able to give an answer to the question".

"Mr Ecclestone recognises it was wrong to answer the questions he did because it ran the risk that HMRC would not continue to investigate his affairs," he said.

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

The court heard Ecclestone saved around £100,000 in fees by bringing the investigation to an end, but Mr Wright said: "One could argue there's been no savings because the discovery of the lie has led to significant expenditure in legal fees."

At an earlier hearing, his lawyer Clare Montgomery KC called the evidence of a cardiologist to unsuccessfully argue her client should not face trial because the stress of proceedings could kill him.

Ms Montgomery KC also claimed he was charged a week after he made "extremely unpopular" remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin on ITV's Good Morning Britain on 30 June 2022.

"We will be submitting, on the face of it, the assumption he was being prosecuted because of that rather than the legitimate public interest criteria," she said at the time.

Ecclestone was forced to issue an apology after saying he would "take a bullet" for Mr Putin and described him as "a first-class person".

Ms Montgomery said Ecclestone "bitterly regrets" the events that led to him being prosecuted, adding: "It was not Mr Ecclestone's intention to avoid paying tax. He has always been willing to pay the tax that was due."

She said his answer was an "impulsive lapse of judgement" and that he was now in "frail health" with the proceedings causing "immense stress to him and those who love him".

Sentencing Eccleston, who was stood in the dock, Mr Justice Bryan said the "undoubted seriousness" of his offending was mitigated by factors including his age, health and the tax settlement he has paid.

"That has caused me to stand back and reflect upon whether the seriousness of your offending is such that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate imprisonment," he said.

"I am, however, persuaded by the joint submissions, and agreement, of the prosecution and the defence, that the seriousness of your offending does not mean that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate imprisonment, and weighing all of the factors in the balance I am going to pass a suspended sentence order."

Ecclestone made an inaudible response to questions from reporters as he left court and got into a waiting white Range Rover.

Richard Las, HMRC chief investigation officer, said: "Bernie Ecclestone has had ample time and numerous opportunities to take responsibility and be honest with HMRC about his tax affairs.

"Instead of taking these opportunities he lied to HMRC and as a result we opened a criminal investigation.

"This investigation has involved enquiries around the world and culminated with Bernie Ecclestone's guilty plea to fraud.

He now has a criminal record and has paid £652m relating to his wider tax affairs."

https://news.sky.com/story/ex-formula-one-boss-bernie-ecclestone-admits-fraud-12982939

OBS at this year's F1 S'pore Grand Prix kym?

'Full speed' ahead for F1 Singapore Grand Prix despite CPIB probe

SINGAPORE: It is "full speed" ahead for this month's Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix despite the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) probe involving Singapore GP chairman Ong Beng Seng, said Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng on Sunday (Sep 3).

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Italian Grand Prix screening at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh, Dr Tan, who is also Manpower Minister, added that “the show goes on".

“The show goes on. And I can tell you that if you look at all of the events, everything is moving at full speed. There's no holding back of any other events whatsoever,” he said.

“Based on our ticket sales, it is very promising. I think this is going to be an exciting event moving forward.”

As part of the CPIB probe, Mr Ong and Transport Minister S Iswaran were arrested in July and subsequently released on bail.

Billionaire businessman Ong, 77, is often credited with playing a key role in a deal struck in 2007 between the Singapore Tourism Board and then-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, to bring the motorsport's first night race to the country. 

Mr Ong owns the rights to the Singapore Grand Prix and is chairman of race promoter Singapore GP.

The contract for Singapore to host the F1 grand prix for another seven years was signed last year – the fourth renewal and longest extension.

Mr Iswaran has been actively involved in the government's engagements with F1, including making appearances at press conferences where announcements about the event's future have been made.

On Sunday, Dr Tan declined comment on the ongoing investigations.

“As far as the investigations, they are still ongoing, so I don't think I should comment on them. Neither am I able to comment on them anyway,” he said.

“So let's wait for the authorities to come out. But I think this event promises to be one where everyone will remember.”

'STRONG' DEMAND REMAINS

Last Tuesday, race organisers had said that attendance at this year's F1 Singapore Grand Prix is expected to dip by 17 per cent due to the closure of the Bay Grandstand as part of efforts to redevelop The Float @ Marina Bay.

This means the night race from Sep 15 to Sep 17 will attract approximately 250,000 spectators - also the average attendance since it began in 2008 - and down from the record high of 302,000 last year.

While there will be a "slight drop" in attendance numbers, Dr Tan said that "many of the activities" would make up for it.

"There's a whole exciting slew of activities that has been lined up, and I want to add that the performing artists so far ... they are equally excited in coming here as well."

The full entertainment line-up for this year's event includes the likes of US rapper Post Malone, British pop singer Robbie Williams and American rock band Kings of Leon.

Demand for tickets "continues to be very strong", with 16 out of 23 categories currently sold out and "limited availability" for five of the remaining categories, said race organisers previously.

"We've had ... very good interest and very, very promising turnout," added Dr Tan.

Dr Tan also touched on the spillover effect which the Singapore Grand Prix has on local businesses. He added that about 28 Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) events will be held from next weekend through till the week after the race.

"90 per cent of all of the outsourced work goes to local enterprises ... so you can imagine that there is a lot of spillover effect," he said.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sport/f1-singapore-grand-prix-cpib-probe-ong-beng-seng-iswaran-3743686

Iswaran and OBS are probably just the tip of the iceberg, I won't be surprised if the rot goes way deeper than thought insofar as the various organizers/vendors (involved in getting the SG leg of the race up and running) are concerned...

PAP = PROFITS ABOVE PEOPLE