Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone explains why he paid £23 million to Gribkowsky – Formula 1 news
Bernie Ecclestone admitted that he paid Gerhard Gribkowsky a sum £23 million to keep him quiet.
Ecclestone at the German court hearing for the case of corruption and tax evasion of banker Gerhard Gribkowsky gave his statement that he paid the banker to shut him up, as he threatened to put false allegations on him which could have had grave implications
worth £2 billion.
Ecclestone spoke on the first day of evidence and told the court that payment of $44 million were not bribes but in fact were made in order to stop him from making vindictive claims to HM Revenue and Customs.
“Basically he [Gribkowsky] wanted some money to set up in business and my fear was, maybe he would do something, and I could keep him quiet and peaceful and friendly and not do silly things,” Ecclestone admitted.
He further explained how the trust that he set up was to safeguard his wife’s inheritance from UK tax and if HM Revenue & Customs demanded the tax on the trust, it would have cost him more than £2 billion.
“I didn't know how they could have proved anything,” he continued. “The fear was that they could have assessed me and it would have taken an awful long time of my life when I was completely in the right. Revenue would have assessed me as if I was controlling
the trust and I would have had the burden to prove I was not involved.”
When Ecclestone was asked whether Gribkowsky had made any direct threats, he explained that he had not made any direct statements but it was more like a movie scenario, where he said things like, that he had seen his children leave the house, go to school
and stuff that would make a person feel uneasy. The idea was to show how serious the situation was and that is why the payment was made to stop him from doing anything.
Ecclestone has reportedly paid around $23 million to Gribkowsky and the trust around $21 million. The case is ongoing and is expected to continue into the New Year. Ecclestone will be facing another day of questioning for his involvement in the case.
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