Bernie Ecclestone Served Indictment by German Court in Bribery Case

Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has been served with an indictment from a German judge in relation to allegations of bribery.

Prosecutors in Germany concluded their investigations in May after the conviction of German lawyer, Gerhard Gribkowsky for receiving payments from Ecclestone, thought to be in the region of $44m.

The money is connected with the sale of the sport in 2005.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Ecclestone said: “I have just spoken to my lawyers and they have received an indictment. It’s being translated into English.

“We are defending it properly. It will be an interesting case. It’s a pity it’s happened.”

The indictment from Munich prosecutors specifies claims of aiding and abetting breach of trust and bribery according to one of Ecclestone’s lawyers, Sven Thomas.

Ecclestone and his legal team deny the allegations and Thomas said the charge of bribery was ‘highly questionable.’

The legal team will submit their response to the Munich court in the next couple of weeks and the court will then decide if the case should be taken to court.

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