Bernie Ecclestone Buys His Way to Freedom for $100 Mil

What’s the price of freedom? Apparently, $100 million, at least for Bernie Ecclestone, the controversial boss of the Formula One race series who has been able to convince German prosecutors to halt his bribery trial in return for that hefty fee.

The 83-year-old Ecclestone has long been at the center of rumors and innuendo suggesting shady dealings but only last April went on trial on charges that he paid a former German banker a US$44 million bribe to help him gain control of the F1 series eight years ago.

Ecclestone has wielded his power ruthlessly in the world of motorsports, beating down several attempts to shift control by some of the larger teams, including Ferrari. In the process, the one-time used car salesman has become a billionaire many times over.

But while his business practices have frequently come under question, Ecclestone has, until now, sidestepped any serious run-ins with the law. That all changed when BayernLB banker Gerhard Gribkowsky was accused of receiving a 33 million Euro payoff for helping that a major share of the Formula One operation was purchased by a buyer who would support Ecclestone’s contibued management.

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Gribkowsky went on trial in October 2011 and was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to 8.5 years in prison.

Ecclestone has continued to claim his innocence, while admitting he did pay the German banker. The aging motorsports magnate insists he did so only because Gribkowsky had threatened to make false claims about Ecclestone’s tax situation.

Since the F1 boss’s trial began in April, the court has heard over 100 hours of testimony. Had the final verdict gone against Ecclestone he could have been subject to as much as 10 years behind bars.

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Whether he would have actually served time is unclear. The state prosecutor referred to the British billionaire’s “advanced age” and “other extenuating circumstances” in supporting the payment of a fine. But those close to the trial have said that Ecclestone had to increase the payout from the $25 million he originally proposed. Of the final fee, $99 million will go to the state, another $1 million being donated to a children’s charity.

In agreeing to the proposed settlement, Judge Peter Noll warned that the “commitment” will have to be honored before the charges are formally dropped, stressing that, “If you don’t honor your commitments, we’ll continue the trial.”

Ecclestone quickly promised that he “I will honor my commitment.”

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Such an approach might seem unusual, but it is considered normal in German law. It was used by a well-known sporting figure to avoid prosecution for doping. And German broadcaster ARD reported that former Chancellor Helmut Kohl ended a trial for accepting illegal party donations in 2001 by paying a fee.

By halting the trial the court said Ecclestone retains “the presumption of innocence. But he also will keep his job at the helm of Formula One. CVC, the private equity group that holds the largest, 35% stake in the series, had warned that it would have ousted Ecclestone if he’d been convicted on the bribery charges.