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| Formula 1 boss Ecclestone indicted | Formula 1 boss Ecclestone indicted |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| German prosecutors have indicted Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone for alleged bribery. | |
| The charge relates to a $44m (£29m) payment to a German banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky of Bayern Landesbank. It was linked to the sale of a stake in F1. | The charge relates to a $44m (£29m) payment to a German banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky of Bayern Landesbank. It was linked to the sale of a stake in F1. |
| Mr Ecclestone said he had paid Mr Gribkowsky to avoid a UK tax inquiry into the sale of Formula 1 in 2006, but denied the payments were bribes. | Mr Ecclestone said he had paid Mr Gribkowsky to avoid a UK tax inquiry into the sale of Formula 1 in 2006, but denied the payments were bribes. |
| Mr Gribkowsky was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail in Munich. | Mr Gribkowsky was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail in Munich. |
| Speaking to the Financial Times on Wednesday, Mr Ecclestone said: "I have just spoken to my lawyers and they have received an indictment. It's being translated into English." | |
| Asked how he responded to the indictment, he said: "We are defending it properly. It will be an interesting case. It's a pity it's happened." | |
| Mr Ecclestone said it was "inevitable" that the indictment had been served. "If someone wants to sue you, they can do it and you have to defend it," he said. |