Ex-Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone escapes jail term in UK court fraud case

Bernie Ecclestone

Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone on Thursday received a non-custodial sentence after pleading guilty in a UK court to charges of failing to declare a multi-million-pound trust in Singapore to the British tax authorities.

The 92-year-old, wearing a dark suit and grey tie, told London's Southwark Crown court: "I plead guilty."

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He was handed a 17-month sentence suspended for two years, meaning he will only serve jail time if he reoffends within that time.

Ecclestone was charged last year over an alleged failure to declare more than GBP400 million ($453 million) of overseas assets to the UK government in 2015, and was due to stand trial in November. He had previously told tax officials that he did not have any undeclared trusts in or outside the UK.

But prosecutor Richard Wright told court: "That answer was untrue or misleading. "Mr Ecclestone was not entirely clear on how ownership of the accounts in question were structured.

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