Former F1 boss Ecclestone pleads guilty to tax fraudbut avoids prison term

The former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has agreed to pay £652.6m to HMRC after pleading guilty to fraud.

- Jasper Jolly, Giles Richards

Ecclestone, who had been accused of failing to declare more than £400m of overseas assets to the UK government had originally denied the charges at a hearing in August, but yesterday changed his plea at Southwark crown court in London.

After setting up a 2015 meeting with HMRC to try to bring an end to an investigation into his finances, he lied to officials. His answers that day have now resulted in a 17-month custodial sentence, although he avoided prison because the judge suspended it for two years. Ecclestone will also have to pay HMRC £652.6m, plus prosecution costs of £74,000.

After arriving at court, wearing a grey three-piece suit, Ecclestone, 92, told the judge: "I plead guilty." It was a steep fall from grace for a man who commanded race paddocks and sweetheart deals for special treatment from world leaders from the UK's Tony Blair to Russia's Vladimir Putin - from the late 1970s until January 2017. That position made him one of the most prominent people in global motor sport. During that time, he grew F1 into a prized global media asset while maintaining tight control of the commercial and sporting sides of the business.