Tax officials quiz Tamara as they chase Ecclestone over £1bn bill
TAMARA Ecclestone has reportedly been interviewed under caution by tax officials investigating her tycoon father’s £2.5billion fortune.
The 33-year-old socialite was questioned at the London headquarters of HM Revenue and Customs.
Her father Bernie Ecclestone, 87, has been embroiled in a long-running tax row over the huge sums he made during his time as Formula One boss.
It was first settled in 2008 when he reportedly paid £10million of a £1billion tax bill in a ‘secret deal’. But Mr Ecclestone is being pursued for the money again in one of the biggest ever individual tax disputes.
‘Tamara was given a date to attend HMRC offices to be interviewed under caution about tax affairs,’ a source told The Sun. ‘This is the first time one of his daughters has been dragged in to be questioned.’
There is no suggestion that Miss Ecclestone, who was said to have been grilled in September, has broken tax laws.
HMRC has the power to interview people they suspect of tax irregularities under caution. If it discovers any evidence, it can hand the case over to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Both HMRC and Miss Ecclestone’s agent declined to comment last night.
Mr Ecclestone, who claims he has ‘paid all the taxes’ he owed, says HMRC conceded he was in the clear, only to then tear up a deal its struck with him.
Tax officials are now said to be pursuing him for £1billion they claim he still owes.
The details of his daughter’s questioning emerged as she had lavish Christmas decorations – including a full-size sleigh and two reindeer statues – delivered to the £70million mansion in West London where she lives with her husband Jay Rutland and daughter Sophia.
In previous interviews, Miss Ecclestone – who has her own ITV reality show, Tamara’s World – has insisted she is not spoilt by her billionaire father. ‘I don’t want rely on Daddy’s money,’ she has said. ‘He helps me with houses, but those are investments.’
When three-times married Mr Ecclestone sold lucrative Formula One TV rights, the money was placed in a family trust fund set up in the tax haven of Liechtenstein.
His former wife Slavica, who is 28 years his junior, and daughters Tamara and Petra are the intended beneficiaries.
Mr Ecclestone has repeatedly claimed he has no influence or control over the fund and does not benefit from it.