Former Formula One boss, Bernie Ecclestone was told in court on Tuesday, that he will face trial next year for a charge of tax fraud related to more than 400 million pounds ($454 million) of overseas assets.
The 91-year-old, who entered a not guilty plea at a hearing last month, appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London accompanied by his wife Fabiana.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service indictment, Ecclestone stands accused of making an untrue or misleading representation to the British tax authority between July 2013 and October 2016. It says the British billionaire, dishonestly told HM Revenue and Customs that he established only a single trust in favour of his daughters and that other than the trust established for his daughters, he was not the settlor nor beneficiary of any trust, in or outside the UK.
He was granted unconditional bail ahead of his trial, which is due to begin at the same court on October 9, 2023.
Ecclestone was ousted as Formula One supremo in 2017 when US-based Liberty Media took over the sport's commercial rights. He maintains an office in London but now spends most of his time abroad, with residences in Switzerland, Ibiza and a farm in Brazil.
