'I'll give you £10m instead': Formula 1 mogul Bernie Eccleston 'dodges £1.2 BILLION tax bill'

According to legal transcripts obtained by BBC Panorama, Bernie Eccleston has avoided a £1.2 BILLION tax bill by way of a secret deal with HMRC.

16:48 28 April 2014

After nine years of investigation, UK tax authorities have struck a deal with Formula 1 boss Bernie Eccleston in which the latter dodged a £1.2 billion tax bill and instead shelled out just £10 million. 

 

Although the deal was not confirmed by HMRC, evidence was obtained by BBC show Panorama from unpublished transcripts of interviews conducted by a German public prosecutor. 

 

Panorama’s investigation goes back to 1995 when Mr Ecclestone secured the TV rights of Formula 1. It didn’t take him too long to move his prize asset offshore and gave the rights to his then wife, Slavica. Before she sold them for a huge profit, she transferred them to a family trust in Liechtenstein, avoiding any UK tax. 

 

One of the lawyers who helped run the Ecclestone family trusts, Frederique Flournoy, told the prosecutor: "In summer 2008, the Inland Revenue offered to conclude the matter if we paid £10m. We decided to pay up."

 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for HMRC said: "The way in which HMRC settles and assures tax disputes has been completely overhauled in recent years, making the process more transparent. 

 

"The effectiveness and propriety of such settlements is overseen by a Tax Assurance Commissioner, who publishes an annual report covering all large settlement cases."