German prosecutors have indicted Bernie Ecclestone on a bribery charge that stems from a $44m (£29m) payment to a German Banker. It was linked to a sale of stake in F1.
Ecclestone admitted he paid Mr Gribkowsky to avoid a tax inquiry into the sale of Formula 1 in 2006, but denied the payments were bribes.
Gribkowsky was sentenced to eight and a half years in jail in Munich.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Ecclestone said ‘I have spoken with my lawyers and they have received an indictment . It is being translated to English.’
Mr Ecclestone said it was inevitable that the indictment had been served. “if anyone wants to sue you, they can do it and you have to defend it”, he argued.
The news came as Ecclestone’s representatives attended a court hearing in London to fight claims that he undersold the broadcast rights of F1 to CVC Capital Partners, a private equity company that has a controlling interest in the sport.
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