London, Oct 12 (EFE).- Bernie Ecclestone, former Formula One boss, has been sentenced to 17 months in prison and fined 653 million pounds (798m US dollars) after pleading guilty to fraud.
Ecclestone, 92, admitted to concealing 400 million pounds from the United Kingdom’s Treasury.
He pleaded guilty Thursday in a London court to a fraud charge which authorities began investigating in July 2015.
Ecclestone has reached an agreement with Inland Revenue for the payment of 653 million pounds relating to unpaid taxes for the past 18 years, and has been sentenced to 17 months in prison, which is suspended for the next two years.
According to the court, Ecclestone failed to declare a trust in Singapore, with a bank account in which there was about 400 million pounds and, in addition, lied to the British Treasury when he was questioned on the subject at a meeting in 2015.
Ecclestone, who had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, said at the time that he established a trust for his three daughters, Deborah, Tamara and Petra.
According to the prosecutor, the answers Ecclestone gave seven years ago were “erroneous” and could “mislead”, while clarifying that the defendant was not aware of his position and could not give a clear answer.
Ecclestone was the chairman of Formula One, the organization that controlled Formula One, until 2017, a few months after Liberty Media took over running the sport. EFE
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