The 83-year-old is currently on trial in Munich, accused of paying a £26
million bribe to a German banker to help safeguard his supremacy in F1 when
the sport was sold in 2006.
Among the documents lodged with the court were details of Mr Ecclestone’s
complex divorce settlement, which have seen him receive around £300 million
from his ex-wife since 2009.
An investigation by BBC Panorama claims the HMRC were pursuing Mr Ecclestone
for a tax bill of £2 billion, but allowed him to settle for £10 million, in
what could be the “biggest ever personal tax dodge”.
Emily Thornberry MP, the shadow attorney general, has called for a new
investigation into Mr Ecclestone by HMRC.
She said: “Ten million may sound like a lot to some people but you have to
look at it in the round. And if we’re talking about a trust fund in which
they are making huge amounts of money like this, then it isn’t very much is
it?”
Tax barrister Jolyon Maugham told the BBC it could be the biggest case of tax
avoidance involving an individual in Britain.
He said: “Two billion is a pretty substantial loss of tax. I’m certainly not
aware of anything else remotely approaching that sort of magnitude, in my
fairly extensive experience.”
Mr Ecclestone had claimed he had given away his fortune to avoid inheritance
tax laws which he considered unfair.
Swiss lawyer Frederique Flournoy disclosed details of the regular payments to
Mr Ecclestone from his ex-wife and also revealed that the HMRC had reached a
secret deal with the motor racing boss.
She said: “The Inland Revenue offered to conclude the matter if we paid 10
million pounds. Without knowing the legal basis that had given rise to this
offer, we decided to pay up, without discussing things in great detail.”
Mr Ecclestone declined to answer any of Panorama’s questions about his
relationship with the family trusts.
But he did say he personally paid almost fifty-two million pounds in tax last
year and had always paid his fair share.
In a statement, a lawyer for the Ecclestone family trusts said: “Mr Ecclestone
has not exerted, and has never sought to exert, any control over the
management of the trusts”.
A spokesman for the HMRC said: “We are unable to discuss the confidential
tax affairs of identifiable individuals or businesses.
“The settlement of all disputes is governed by HMRC’s published
litigation and settlement strategy, which ensures that we only settle for
the tax that is owed and which would otherwise be achieved through
litigation.
“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.”