Bernie Ecclestone was fined the second heaviest penalty in the UK for tax fraud
Bernie Ecclestone has been sentenced to 17 months of probation for tax fraud, as well as a heavy fine. The financial penalty imposed on the former Brabham team manager is the second largest in the history of his country.
The fine is very steep for the former Formula 1 moneyman. Bernie Ecclestone was sentenced in October 2023 by the United Kingdom’s justice system for not declaring £400 million, equivalent to €468 million, of assets in Singapore between 2013 and 2016.
During his trial, the 93-year-old British man pleaded guilty to tax fraud and was sentenced to 17 months of suspended imprisonment, as well as a total fine of £652.6 million, which is approximately 764 million euros.
This financial sanction is the second largest in the United Kingdom, behind the £664.5 million, approximately €778 million, imposed on Russian trader Alex Gerko, founder of XTX Market.
It was an honest mistake.
During the trial, Clare Montgomery, Ecclestone’s lawyer, invoked her client’s fragile health in order to avoid a prison sentence. The Briton, on his part, asserts that he did not intend to defraud his country’s tax authorities.
“I have always paid taxes in the United Kingdom, every year. I have to take care of my affairs for my future. The issue concerned the tax I earned abroad, on which the British tax authorities believed I should pay British taxes. It was an honest mistake and I think everyone knew that. Of course, I understand there will be criticisms, but people do a lot of things in life for money,” Bernie Ecclestone told The Times.
