Bernie Ecclestone shrugs off reports of charges in German bribery case

Formula One mogul Bernie Ecclestone faces losing control of the racing sport, and the prospect of jail, following reports he has been charged with bribery by German prosecutors.

The charge, and a separate indictment of breach of fiduciary duty, relates to the sale in 2006 of Formula One by German bank Bayern LB to CVC Capital partners.

83-year old Bernie Ecclestone is suspected of bribing top German banker and once a majority shareholder in Formula One, Gerhard Gribkowsky, who is serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence after confessing last June to accepting a £28million (S$53.6 million) bribe. Authorities have been looking into the claims for the past two years.

Ecclestone claimed that he gave Gribkowsky money because he was being blackmailed. His lawyers are expected to use this argument to try and prevent the court bringing the charges to trial.

If judges do decide that the charges warrant trial, it looks unlikely that Ecclestone will appear in court before the autumn, if only because everything has to be translated into English for his legal team.

Ecclestone currently has one of Germany's top law firms, Thomas Deckers Wehnert Elsner, and his usual team of lawyers in England is working for him on the case.

The next time Ecclestone will visit Germany is for the Formula One race at the Nürburgring track, in July. According to Munich Daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, it remains unclear whether he will step down from his role. This may become more clear as the case progresses.