London, July 22 (ANI): Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he paid a bribe of 44 million dollars to German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky.
Ecclestone said he paid the bribe because the German banker'threatened' to cause trouble for him with inland revenue, The Telegraph reports.
Gribkowsky, formerly the head of risk management at BayernLB, which sold a 47 per cent stake in Formula One's parent company SLEC to private equity firm CVC in 2005, has been charged with breach of trust, tax evasion and having been in receipt of corrupt payments from Ecclestone, who remains under investigation by the German authorities.
According to reports, in return for his 44 million dollar bribe, Ecclestone is alleged to have received 41.4 million dollars in commissions from the state-owned Bayerische Landes bank, and a further 25 million dollars in the F 1 chief's family trust, Bambino Holdings.
It is unclear as to why Ecclestone would have bribed Gribkowsky, although one theory is that the German was battling in court for greater control of the sport in 2005 before BayernLB's sale of its stake. By selling his bank's shares to CVC, Ecclestone got promptly installed as the chief executive.
Ecclestone, however, told The Telegraph that Gribkowsky has made false allegations about his relationship with Bambino Holdings, saying he has never had anything to do with the trust in any shape or form. "He (Gribkowsky) threatened that he was going to say that I was running it," Ecclestone added.
"The (Inland) Revenue obviously had to check everything. It took five years going through that. I didn't deal with it. The trust had to show it was correct. The taxation people in England at the time were in the middle of settling everything with the trust and the last thing you need is for them to start thinking something different. He (Gribkowsky) was shaking me down and I didn't want to take a risk. Nothing was wrong with the trust. Nothing at all," Ecclestone was quoted, as saying by The Telegraph.
Ecclestone claims that he asked his lawyers at the time what would happen to him if Gribkowsky carried through his 'threat'.
"They said 'I tell you what would happen, the Revenue would assess you and you would have to defend it, because you could defend it, and you would be three years in court and it would cost you a fortune. Better pay," Ecclestone said.
Meanwhile, German prosecutors said that the payment of 'bribe money' was disguised through two fake consulting contracts with (companies) in Mauritius and the British Virgin Islands. (ANI)
|
|
Read More: Mau
Comments:
