Editing Bernie Ecclestone (section)

==Controversies==
{{criticism section|date=March 2022}}

===Great Train Robbery===
For many years Ecclestone was rumoured to have been involved in the [[Great Train Robbery (1963)]]. In a 2014 interview Ecclestone said that this rumour arose from his acquaintance with robber Roy James, the getaway driver who was an amateur racing driver. James later produced the silver trophy given to Formula One promoters.<ref>{{cite news |last=Benson |first=Andrew |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23346006 |title=BBC Sport – Bernie Ecclestone – the man, the myths and the motors |work=BBC Sport |access-date=18 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118011144/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23346006 |archive-date=18 January 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Labour Party controversy===
In 1997, Ecclestone was involved in a political controversy over the British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]]'s policy on tobacco sponsorship. Labour had pledged to ban [[tobacco advertising]] in its manifesto ahead of its [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election victory]], supporting a proposed [[European Union Directive]] banning tobacco advertising and sponsorship.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4377928.stm|work=BBC News|title=Timeline: Smoking and disease |access-date=21 March 2008|date=30 June 2007}}</ref> At this time all leading Formula One Teams carried significant branding from tobacco companies. The Labour Party's stance on banning tobacco advertising was reinforced following the general election by forceful statements from the Health Secretary [[Frank Dobson]] and Minister for Public Health [[Tessa Jowell]].<ref name="rawnsley">{{cite book |title=Servants of The People |last= Rawnsley|first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Rawnsley |year=2001 |publisher=Penguin Books|location=London |isbn=0-14-027850-8 }}</ref> Ecclestone appealed 'over Jowell's head' to [[Jonathan Powell (Labour adviser)|Jonathan Powell]], [[Tony Blair]]'s chief of staff, who arranged a meeting with Blair. Ecclestone and [[Max Mosley]], both Labour Party donors, met Blair on 16 October 1997, where Mosley argued:
<blockquote>"Motor racing was a world class industry which put Britain at the hi-tech edge. Deprived of tobacco money, Formula One would move abroad at the loss of 50,000 jobs, 150,000 part-time jobs and £900 million of exports."<ref name="rawnsley"/></blockquote> 
On 4 November the "fiercely anti-tobacco Jowell" argued in Brussels for an exemption for Formula One. Media attention initially focused on Labour bending its principles for a "glamour sport" and on the "false trail" of Jowell's husband's links to [[Benetton Formula|Benetton]].<ref name="rawnsley"/> On 6 November correspondents from three newspapers inquired whether Labour had received any donations from Ecclestone; he had donated £1 million in January 1997. On 11 November Labour promised to return the money on the advice of Sir Patrick Neill.<ref>{{cite news| title = How the Ecclestone affair unfolded|work=BBC News | date =22 September 2000 | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/937232.stm | access-date =22 March 2008}}</ref> On 17 November, Blair apologised for his government's mishandling of the affair and stated "the decision to exempt Formula One from tobacco sponsorship was taken two weeks later. It was in response to fears that Britain might lose the industry overseas to Asian countries who were bidding for it."<ref>{{cite news| title = Blair apologises for mishandling F1 row|work=BBC News | date = 17 November 1997 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/31780.stm | access-date =22 March 2008}}</ref> In 2008, the year after Blair stepped down as Prime Minister, internal Downing Street memos revealed that the decision had been made at the time of the meeting, and not two weeks later as Blair stated in Parliament.<ref>{{cite news| title = Secret papers reveal Tony Blair's F1 tobacco deal |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4926737.ece |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110604194553/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4926737.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 June 2011 | work=[[The Times]]  | date=12 October 2008 | access-date=26 April 2010 | first1=Jonathan | last1=Oliver | first2=Isabel | last2=Oakeshott | location=London}}</ref>

=== Tax avoidance (2008) ===
Interviews conducted by a German prosecutor in the Gerhard Gribkowsky case showed that Ecclestone had been under investigation by the UK tax authorities for nine years, and that he had avoided the payment of £1.2 billion through a legal [[tax avoidance]] scheme. [[HM Revenue and Customs]] agreed to conclude the matter in 2008 with a payment of £10 million.<ref>{{cite news|last=Darragh|first=MacIntyre|title=F1's Ecclestone avoided potential £1.2bn tax bill|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27144637|access-date=28 April 2014|work=BBC News|date=28 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Hitler remarks ===
In a ''[[The Times|Times]]'' interview published on 4 July 2009, Ecclestone said "terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was – in the way that he could command a lot of people – able to get things done."<ref name="times">Alice Thomson and Rachel Sylvester [https://web.archive.org/web/20090827032853/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6632991.ece "Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One boss, says despots are underrated"], ''The Times'', 4 July 2009; [https://web.archive.org/web/20090827032853/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6632991.ece (archived version)]</ref> According to Ecclestone: "If you have a look at a democracy it hasn't done a lot of good for many countries — including this one", in reference to the United Kingdom.<ref name="times" /> He also said that his friend of 40 years Max Mosley, the son of British fascist leader [[Oswald Mosley]], "would do a super job" as Prime Minister and added "I don't think his background would be a problem."<ref name="times" />

[[Stephen Pollard]], editor of ''[[The Jewish Chronicle]]'', said: "Mr Ecclestone is either an idiot or morally repulsive. Either he has no idea how stupid and offensive his views are or he does and deserves to be held in contempt by all decent people."<ref>Steve Bird, [[Ruth Gledhill]] and Sam Coates [https://web.archive.org/web/20100107015607/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article6633340.ece "Hitler? He got things done, says Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone"], ''The Times'', 4 July 2009</ref> In a subsequent interview with ''The Jewish Chronicle'', Ecclestone said that his comments were taken the wrong way, but apologised, saying, "I'm just sorry that I was an idiot. I sincerely, genuinely apologise."<ref>Simon Rocker [http://www.thejc.com/articles/ecclestone-i-was-idiot-over-hitler "Ecclestone: I was an idiot over Hitler"], ''The Jewish Chronicle'', 6 July 2009</ref> However, when Ecclestone was later told by [[Associated Press]] that the [[World Jewish Congress]] had called for his resignation, he said: "It's a pity they didn't sort the banks out," referring to the [[2008 financial crisis]], and stated: "They have a lot of influence everywhere."<ref>Associated Press [https://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/formula1/2009-07-06-ecclestone-remarks_N.htm "Ecclestone says he won't resign over Hitler remarks"], ''USA Today'', 6 July 2009</ref>

=== Bribery accusation ===
In a 2012 trial against the former [[BayernLB]] chief risk officer Gerhard Gribkowsky, the public prosecutor accused Ecclestone of being a co-perpetrator in the case. Gribkowsky confessed to the charges of tax evasion, breach of trust and for accepting bribes. In closing arguments at a Munich trial the public prosecutor told the court Ecclestone "hasn't been blackmailed, he is a co-perpetrator in a bribery case". According to the prosecutor and defendant, Ecclestone paid about $44 million to the former banker to get rid of the lender's stake in Formula One. Ecclestone told prosecutors he paid Gribkowsky because he blackmailed him with telling UK tax authorities about a family trust controlled by Ecclestone's former wife.<ref>Oliver Suess [https://archive.today/20130118163348/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-27/ecclestone-co-perpetrator-in-bribery-scheme-prosecutor-says "Ecclestone 'Co-Perpetrator' in Bribery, Prosecutor Says"], ''[[Bloomberg BusinessWeek]]'', 27 June 2012</ref>
In November 2012 private equity firm Bluewaters Communications Holdings filed a £409m lawsuit against the 2005 sale of Formula One, alleging it was the sport's rightful owner.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pitpass.com/47983-Exclusive-409m-lawsuit-against-Ecclestone-and-CVC-revealed|title=£409m lawsuit against Ecclestone and CVC revealed|publisher=Pitpass.com|date=20 November 2012}}</ref>

In May 2013, ''[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]'' reported that the Munich prosecutors' office had charged Ecclestone on two counts of bribery after a two-year investigation into his relationship with Gribkowsky.<ref name=BBCMay16>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22544436|title=Bernie Ecclestone: Formula 1 boss reportedly facing charges|work=BBC News|access-date=2 May 2013}}</ref> In July 2013, German prosecutors indicted Ecclestone for alleged bribery. The charge relates to a $44 million (£29m) payment to Gribkowsky. It was linked to the sale of a stake in Formula 1.<ref>{{cite news|title=Formula 1 boss Ecclestone indicted|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23344423#TWEET824508|publisher=BBC|access-date=17 July 2013|date=17 July 2013}}</ref> Gribkowsky, the BayernLB bank executive, was found guilty of taking $44m in [[bribes]] and failing to pay tax on the money.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/jul/17/bernie-ecclestone-german-court Bernie Ecclestone indicted by German court for alleged bribery] Guardian 17 July 2013</ref>

On 14 January 2014, a court in Munich ruled that Ecclestone would indeed be [[Judiciary of Germany|tried on bribery]] charges in Germany,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25756973 | work=BBC News | title=Formula 1: Ecclestone to face Germany bribery charges | date=16 January 2014}}</ref> and on 5 August 2014, the same court ruled that Ecclestone could pay a £60m settlement, without admitting guilt, to end the trial.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28656050 | work=BBC News | title=F1 boss Ecclestone pays to end bribery trial | date=5 August 2014}}</ref>

=== Comments on diversity and racism ===
In the weeks following the events of the [[murder of George Floyd]], seven-time world champion [[Lewis Hamilton]], F1's only black driver, had launched his own commission to tackle racism and increase diversity, with Formula One launching a ''We Race As One'' initiative to fight global inequality. In an interview with [[CNN]], Ecclestone initially praised Hamilton's efforts but then questioned whether it would "do anything bad or good for Formula One", before saying that "In a lot of cases, black people are more racist than what white people are."<ref>{{Cite web|author1=Amanda Davies |author2=George Ramsay|title=Often 'Black people are more racist than White people,' says ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/26/motorsport/bernie-ecclestone-formula-one-motorsport-lewis-hamilton-spt-intl/index.html|access-date=28 June 2020|website=CNN|date=26 June 2020 }}</ref> In response, Hamilton has countered Ecclestone, criticising him on Instagram for being "ignorant and uneducated", and that he has realised why nothing much has been done to address diversity and racism.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Ecclestone comments ignorant - Hamilton|language=en-GB|work=BBC Sport|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/53204012|access-date=28 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Hamilton: Lack of F1 diversity under Ecclestone makes 'sense'|url=https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hamilton-diversity-ecclestone-complete-sense/4812737/|access-date=28 June 2020|website=www.motorsport.com|date=27 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref> Formula One Group also issued a statement, saying that they "completely disagree with Bernie Ecclestone's comments that have no place in Formula 1 or society", and had added that his title as a chairman ''emeritus'' had since expired in January 2020.<ref name="F1statement">{{Cite web|title=F1 issues statement following recent comments made by Bernie Ecclestone|url=https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.f1-issues-statement-following-recent-comments-made-by-bernie-ecclestone.7DWwHoW38Ke85jy8eS4g8E.html|access-date=28 June 2020|website=www.formula1.com|language=en}}</ref>

=== Illegal possession of a firearm ===
Ecclestone was arrested by Brazilian authorities on 25 May 2022 for illegally carrying a firearm while boarding a private plane to Switzerland. An undocumented LW [[Seecamp]] .32 gun was found in his luggage during an x-ray screening. Ecclestone acknowledged owning the gun, but said he was unaware it was in his luggage at the time. He subsequently paid bail and was freed to travel to Switzerland.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bernie Ecclestone: Former F1 CEO arrested in Brazil for illegally carrying a gun|url=https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12621852/bernie-ecclestone-former-f1-ceo-arrested-in-brazil-for-illegally-carrying-a-gun|access-date=26 May 2022|work=Sky Sports|date=26 May 2022}}</ref>

=== Comments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine ===
[[File:2017 Russian Grand Prix 1.jpg|thumb|Ecclestone with American executive [[Chase Carey]], and Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]], at the [[2017 Russian Grand Prix]]]]
On 30 June 2022 Ecclestone appeared on an interview on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''[[Good Morning Britain (2014 TV programme)|Good Morning Britain]]''. Co-host [[Kate Garraway]] asked if Ecclestone was "still a friend" of [[Vladimir Putin]], to which he replied that he would "take a bullet" for him because he was a "first class person."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Siba |date=30 June 2022 |title=Bernie Ecclestone says he would 'take a bullet' for 'first class' Vladimir Putin as he defends war in Ukraine |url=https://news.sky.com/story/bernie-ecclestone-says-he-would-take-a-bullet-for-first-class-vladimir-putin-as-he-defends-war-in-ukraine-12642942 |access-date=30 June 2022 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref> Ecclestone argued that the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] was just a "mistake" that all business men make. Ecclestone then went on to mention that he believed [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy|President Zelenskyy]] could have prevented the invasion of Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simone |first=Carlo |date=30 June 2022 |title=GMB fans react to Bernie Ecclestone's praise of Vladimir Putin |url=https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/20246801.gmb-fans-react-bernie-ecclestones-praise-vladimir-putin/ |access-date=30 June 2022 |work=[[Telegraph & Argus]]}}</ref> GMB's other co-host [[Ben Shephard]] asked about the death of innocent Ukrainian citizens, to which Ecclestone said it was not "intentional" and gave examples of American invasions into other countries.

In the same interview, Ecclestone argued against the ban on [[Formula One drivers from Russia|Russian drivers]] taking part in [[Formula One]]. He suggested that he would not have removed the [[Russian Grand Prix]] or banned Russian drivers had he been a part of the decision-making process.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Llewellyn |first=Liam |date=30 June 2022 |title=Bernie Ecclestone wants Russian drivers back in F1 amid Vladimir Putin defence |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/formula-1/f1-bernie-ecclestone-vladimir-putin-27363287 |access-date=30 June 2022 |website=Daily Mirror |language=en}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=tabloid|date=July 2022}} In response, Formula One released a statement that said: "The comments made by Bernie Ecclestone are his personal views and are in very stark contrast to position of the modern values of the sport."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Noble |first=Jonathon |date=30 June 2022 |title=F1 hits out at Bernie Ecclestone's Putin defence |url=https://au.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-hits-out-at-bernie-ecclestones-putin-defence/10330328/ |access-date=30 June 2022 |website=au.motorsport.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Tax fraud===
On 11 July 2022  Ecclestone was officially charged with tax fraud ("fraud by false representation") by the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] after an examination of a file sent to the CPS by HM Revenue and Customs which reported he had failed to declare foreign assets of £400 million.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chappell|first=Peter|url=https://www.thetimes.com/business-money/money/article/bernie-ecclestone-charged-with-tax-fraud-pz96wzxh3|title=Bernie Ecclestone charged with tax fraud|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=11 July 2022|access-date=11 July 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The first hearing into the case was scheduled for 22 August at [[Westminster Magistrates' Court]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Jolly|first=Jasper|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jul/11/bernie-ecclestone-charged-hmrc-cps|title=Bernie Ecclestone charged with fraud over £400m assets|newspaper=The Guardian|date=11 July 2022|access-date=11 July 2022}}</ref> In January 2023 the trial date was pushed back to November 2023 at an administrative hearing at [[Southwark Crown Court]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bernie Ecclestone in court ahead of fraud trial for 'failing to declare £400m worth of assets held overseas' |url=https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/bernie-ecclestone-court-ahead-fraud-114532048.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=uk.finance.yahoo.com |date=20 January 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

On 12 October 2023 at Southwark Crown Court Ecclestone pleaded guilty to fraud, after agreeing to pay nearly £653m in back tax and fines. He was sentenced to 17 months in prison, suspended for two years.<ref name="BBC12October23">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67088503|title=Bernie Ecclestone pleads guilty to fraud|date=12 October 2023|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=12 October 2023}}</ref>