Ecclestone charged with £400m fraud

Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has been charged with fraud. He is alleged to have failed to declare more than 400 million pounds (473,000,000 euros) in assets to the British tax authorities.

Charged with fraud

The Crown Prosecution Service says Ecclestone is facing a charge of fraud by false representation. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes criminal cases investigated by the police and other investigative bodies in England and Wales.

"This follows a complex and global criminal investigation by HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service," Simon York is quoted as saying by Press agency Reuters. The first hearing of the case is scheduled for 22 August in London.

Ecclestone's negative press in the news

Ecclestone has been in the news frequently over the past few weeks. At the end of June he said that he would 'take a bullet for Russian president Vladimir Putin' and he directly defended Nelson Piquet Sr, who had made racist comments about Lewis Hamilton.