Bernie Ecclestone: the corruption trial begins in Munich
The F1's chief financier will have to respond to the statements of Gerhard Gribkowsky, a German banker, to whom he allegedly paid $44 million in bribes. The trial will last at least until September.
« I will go to this trial to prove my innocence», announced Bernie Ecclestone to the British newspaper The Telegraph, very confident of the outcome. He might believe he has the wind in his sails when it comes to justice. Last February, he won his case against the German media group Constantin Medien, which felt wronged in the sale of commercial exploitation rights of F1 in 2005.
During the same trial, the British judge had nevertheless acknowledged that bribes were indeed paid as part of a corruption pact concluded by Bernie Ecclestone with the German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky in order to seal the sale of the F1 rights to the investment fund CVC Capital Partners. The amount would be 44 million euros. While the F1 CEO admits to having made this payment, he disputes the reason for it. According to him, it was to protect against possible accusations by the British tax authorities. It is now up to the German judiciary to decide.
Ten years in prison?
Ecclestone faces up to ten years in prison but no worries for the 83-year-old billionaire. “I have confidence, the sun is shining,” he said as he entered the courtroom this Wednesday. He even reportedly refused a plea bargain.
It is hard to imagine him being sentenced to prison, but it could have consequences for his future at the helm of F1. He recently announced that he was not [sure of staying at the head of F1 in 2015]( “/f1/actualite/17132-bernie-ecclestone-pas-certain-de-rester-le-boss-de-la-f1-en-2015.html”). Christian Horner is on [the ranks]( “/f1//f1/actualite/17132-bernie-ecclestone-pas-certain-de-rester-le-boss-de-la-f1-en-2015.html/actualite/16999-F1-Horner-sur-les-rangs-pour-succeder-a-Ecclestone-.html”) to replace him.
Ecclestone is no longer on the F1 board
Let us recall that during the procedure, Bernie Ecclestone left the Formula 1 board of directors. After discussions with the board of directors, Mr. Ecclestone proposed, and the board accepted, that until the end of the trial, he would step down as director, with immediate effect. Consequently, he relinquishes all his duties and responsibilities until the resolution of his case.
However, this does not mean that Bernie Ecclestone is abandoning F1 since he remains the CEO of the sport but will no longer be able to sign anything important on behalf of F1: The board of directors believes that it is in both the economic and sporting best interests for Mr. Ecclestone to continue managing day-to-day affairs but he will be subject to greater oversight by the board. Mr. Ecclestone has accepted these conditions.
The trial will last until at least mid-September, at a pace of two days per week (Wednesday and Thursday), so that the F1 boss can continue attending the various championship races around the world.
