LONDON (AP) — Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone admitted fraud in a court hearing Thursday after prosecutors accused him of failing to report to the British government millions of dollars held in a trust fund in Singapore .
The 92-year-old billionaire, wearing a dark suit, said: “I plead guilty” outside Southwark Crown Court in central London.
Ecclestone ran Formula One racing and controlled the sport for four decades, from the 1970s until 2017, when he stepped down as chief executive and Liberty Media took over the series.
Prosecutors accuse him of failing to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account worth about $650 million when asked about overseas trusts in which he had an interest.
They say Ecclestone claimed he had set up “only a single trust” for the benefit of his three daughters and that he was “neither a settlor nor a beneficiary of any trust within or outside the UK”.
Prosecutors allege he acted “dishonestly” and intended to make a profit from the claims.
“He now accepts that some tax is due in connection with these matters,” said prosecutor Richard Wright.
Ecclestone had pleaded not guilty to the allegations earlier this year.
