F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone indicted in bribery case

In a soup: Bernie Ecclestone

Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has been slapped with bribery charges by German prosecutors.

The allegations are based on a payment of $44m (£29m) made to Gerhard Gribkowsky, who is a banker in Bayern Landesbank. This is believed to be linked to the sale of F1 to its current owners, CVC Capital Partners.

Mr. Ecclestone has accepted that he paid Mr Gribkowsky to avoid an impending UK tax inquiry over the sale of Formula 1 in 2006, but has refused to acknowledge the payments as bribes.

Mr. Gribkowsky has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years imprisonment in Germany for tax evasion and other corruption charges.

Source: BBC