Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone pleaded guilty to fraud on Thursday over allegations that he failed to declare a trust holding $492 million to the British government. The 92-year-old appeared at a court in London over allegations of his nondisclosure of the trust in Singapore in 2015. The case had been set to go to trial in November after he originally pleaded not guilty, but told the judge “I plead guilty” during his court appearance Thursday. British tax authorities charged Ecclestone after conducting an investigation which it described as “complex and worldwide,” with prosecutors saying that the billionaire had declared “only a single” trust set up in his daughter’s name. Ecclestone said he had told U.K. tax authorities that he was “not the settlor nor beneficiary of any trust in or outside the U.K.” before investigators found evidence to the contrary.
