F1 Supremo Ecclestone indicted on bribery charges

Bernie Ecclestone, the elderly head of Formula One, has been indicted by German courts on charges of bribery. This follows reports that had the UK citizen in trouble over payments to Gerhard Gribkowsky, a former German banker with Bayern Landesbank.

Gribkowsky, who will be resting comfortably in a Munich prison for the next eight-and-a-half years, naturally has a story that conflicts with Ecclestone's. According to the German, who oversaw the sale of F1 from Bayern Landesbank in 2006, Ecclestone paid him to undervalue F1's shares while it was sold to CVC Capital Partners. The BBC says Gribkowsky was paid $41.4 million in commissions along with an undisclosed payment from the Ecclestone family's trust.

According to Ecclestone, though, the money paid to Gribkowsky was extorted by the German banker. Ecclestone believed that false information was going to be leaked to the British government regarding illicit tax dealings, which according to Forbes, could have cost Ecclestone up to $3 billion.

Ecclestone has until the middle of August to reply to the charges. It's then up to the German courts to decide whether a trial will be necessary. Based on the he-said-she-said nature of the charges, we wonder how much trouble Bernie is actually in. If found guilty of bribery, Ecclestone could face 10 years in prison.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/07/17/f...ibery-charges/

 

is it just me or is the guy just really goofy/un-kempt looking - that's probably my biggest issue

 

he is just old, 82 years now.

look at him pimpin' though

 

I think he's just trying to relive his youth....that's why guys in their 80s date or marry girls one-fourth or one-third their age (a number of old men with a lot of money or power have done that). Can't prove it, but, IMO, I don't think that's his real hair either.....looks like a wig, or actually, more like a toupee.

 

Maybe it's that unkempt hair/wig/toupee that bugs me most

 

Well, you obviously can't stop the wind. His girlfriend's black hair, right next to him, also seems to be blowing around a bit.

Back on the bribery issue, though I'm admittedly not an expert on this matter, it's hard for me to see how someone (or just one person) can be paid to "undervalue" stocks. Stock prices are usually determined by demand for them from investors. The more demand there is for a stock, the higher its price. It takes a LOT of investors trying to sell off their shares at once (or simply not buying them) to substantially lower the share price.

 

Agreed on the statement, but uh.... isn't that Lewis Hamliton's girl?

 

doesn't look like Nicole Scherzinger.

though, Lewis and Nicole are no longer seeing each other... again.

/OT

Bernie will either buy his way out or die before he gets stuck with these charges.

 

dunno really, but he just broke up with his model wife that was 30 years younger and is dating some 50yr younger model... he has always been like this.

:-)

 

Yeah that thing on his head just doesn't look right on an 80 year old guy, or anyone really.

It will be interesting to see how this things plays out, or if anything comes of it.