The former German banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky, have been found guilty in the high-profile criminal case against him, regarding the sale of F1.
Charged with bribery, breach of trust and tax evasion, 54-year old Gribkowsky have been sentenced to eight and a half years in jail. During the sale of Formula 1 in 2005, Gribkowsky allegedly received no less than $44m, £28m, in bribes from Bernie Ecclestone, who has always claimed that Gribkowsky was ‘shaking him down’. The initial claim from Gribkowsky was that the money was a fee for the acquisition of F1, but last week admitted that he had in fact been putting the screws on Ecclestone.
The move from Ecclestone was seen as something the now 81-year old couldn´t escape, because Gribkowsky threatened to inform the British tax services about ‘irregularities’.
“Mr. Gribkowsky was quite sophisticated in shaking me down,” Ecclestone explained. “I’ve got shaken down by a lot of people, but not as subtle as with Mr. Gribkowsky.”
