F1's Ecclestone to face $50M bribery charges?

Filed under: Motorsports, Europe, Government/Legal, Celebrities



Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone may find himself in legal trouble in Germany over allegations that he bribed a bank official $50 million. According to Yahoo Sports' European arm, prosecutors are currently gathering evidence against the F1 honcho.

The would-be charges center around the deal that led CVC Capital Partners to own F1. The courts say that Gerhard Gribkowsky, who worked with CVC Capital Partners, deposited $50 million into an Austrian account in order to avoid paying taxes on the funds. Prosecutors are currently trying to tie Eccelstone, who is currently employed by CVC as the head of F1, to that money.

Not surprisingly, Eccelstone is denying the accusations, saying that he's done everything in his power to work with investigators on the matter, but that as far as he knows, there are no problems. Gribkowsky, meanwhile, is currently being held in jail on charges of tax evasion, corruption and fraud.F1's Ecclestone to face $50M bribery charges? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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