CPS reports former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone convicted of fraud

Article summary

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has reported that former Formula One boss, Bernie Ecclestone, has been convicted of fraud under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 and sentenced to 17 months in prison, suspended for two years, at Southwark Crown Court. The conviction follows an investigation which began in 2012, when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) started a civil tax investigation into Ecclestone. Ecclestone was offered a chance to correct any mistakes in his taxes through a Contractual Disclosure Facility (CDF) or a COP9, and in 2015 told civil tax investigators that he was not the settlor or beneficiary of any offshore trust. However, information provided to HMRC by authorities in Singapore showed that Ecclestone was the settlor and beneficiary of various trusts and had failed to declare a trust holding assets worth more than £416m. Ecclestone has admitted a single charge of fraud by false representation and has paid £652m for wider tax affairs,...