Bernie Ecclestone, the 82-year-old Englishman who controls the commercial rights to the Formula One racing series, has been indicted in Germany in a seven-year-old bribery affair, it was announced on Wednesday in Munich.
News of the indictment, while expected for some time, adds one more subject, and a major one, to the problems faced by the Formula One community. Mr. Ecclestone is accused of paying a $44 million bribe to Gerhard Gribkowsky, a German banker who was responsible for helping the Bavarian state bank dispose of certain assets, including 47.4 percent of the shares of Formula One Holdings, of which Mr. Ecclestone is chairman.
The shares went to CVC, an British private equity firm, per Mr. Ecclestone’s wishes. He has openly admitted the payment, saying it was a fee for services, and not a bribe. Mr. Gribkowsky was sentenced to eight years by a German court for tax evasion as a result, and is currently serving that sentence.
The indictment adds to Formula One’s current list of challenges, not the least of which is the lack of a logical successor to Mr. Ecclestone. Although he has become a billionaire from the series, he has also elevated the incomes of practically everyone involved in the world championship.
A trial date has not yet been set.
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