Formula 1 billionaire Bernie Ecclestone has been charged with tax fraud in the UK.
He is said to have concealed from the British tax authority a trust fund in Singapore in the amount of 650 million US dollars, according to the prosecutor's office.
On Monday, the 91-year-old appeared in court in central London for the first hearing.
Ecclestone arrived at Westminster Magistrates Court in a white Range Rover, accompanied by his wife Fabiana Flosi, where he was surrounded by a horde of photographers and cameramen.
In court, Ecclestone only confirmed his name and London address and then indicated that he would plead not guilty.
The prosecution accuses him of having told the tax authority HMRC that he only set up a single trust, i.e. a trust fund, for the benefit of his three daughters.
But then it came out that Ecclestone owned another trust in the Far East.
For the years 2013 to 2016 he made false statements and cheated the tax authorities.
Prosecutor Robert Simpson said on Monday: "The Crown is charging him on the basis that he failed to disclose a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing approximately $650 million."
The Crown Enforcement Service announced the charges in July after a "complex and global" investigation.
The hearing on Monday lasted only about five minutes in total.
Ecclestone can be released on bail without conditions until the next court date on September 19.
Ecclestone was head of Formula 1 until 2017 and has accumulated billions of dollars in the commercial exploitation of car racing over four decades.
In addition to his home in Knightsbridge, he owns a coffee farm outside of São Paulo, a house in Gstaad, Switzerland, and a villa in Ibiza.
A few weeks ago he caused a stir and outrage by siding with Russian President Putin, for whom he "would take a bullet," Ecclestone said.
The invasion of Ukraine is just a mistake every businessman makes.
Ecclestone later apologized for his comments and retracted them.