Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has pleaded not guilty to a multi-million-dollar fraud charge in a UK court. Ecclestone was charged in July of failing to declare more than $650 million of overseas assets to the British government.

The ex-motorsport supremo arrived at Westminster Magistrates Court in central London to a throng of photographers and camera crews on Monday. The media had been warned not to mob the 91-year-old outside court because of his age.

According to the charge sheet, he didn't mention when questioned a trust in Singapore during an investigation by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, relating to a period between July 2013 and October 2016.

Ecclestone is alleged to have disclosed "only a single trust" of which his daughters were the beneficiaries, prosecutors told the court. 

READ MORE

UK woman's search for missing Chinese father

Europe's cost-of-living crisis

Berlin's historic gas lamps under threat

In court, white-haired Ecclestone, wearing a dark suit, spoke only to enter his plea, confirm his name, date of birth and give an address in Knightsbridge, west London.

The court heard Ecclestone claimed he was "not the settler or the beneficiary of any other trust" and the prosecution alleged the businessman acted "with the intention of making a gain for yourself."

Judge Paul Goldspring granted him unconditional bail until another pre-trial hearing at Southwark Crown Court in London, on September 19. Ecclestone, a British businessman whose financial net worth has been estimated at $3 billion, is widely credited with transforming Formula One commercially.

His control of the sport developed from the sale of television rights in the 1970s and he was chief executive of the Formula One Group until January 2017.

The Crown Prosecution Service, which brings charges in England and Wales, brought the case for "fraud by false representation" after a "complex and worldwide" investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.