A jailed German banker has revealed that Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone paid him a 44 million-dollar bribe in order to assist a business deal.
Gerhard Gribkowsky, who has already been convicted of taking the money, told a court in Germany that he had been allegedly paid to ensure that a company favoured by Ecclestone could buy a stake in the motor sport.
According to the BBC, Gribkowsky claimed that Ecclestone had first approached him in Singapore, and added that the Formula One boss offered him a huge amount of money and he accepted it.
However, the German banker added that Ecclestone had not been specific about what he expected in return for the payment.
Prosecutors have said that Ecclestone bribed Gribkowsky to ensure that a stake in Formula One was sold to a private equity group of the motor sport boss' choice.
Meanwhile, Ecclestone has denied bribery charges and claimed that he had been a victim of blackmail, but if found guilty, he could face a 10-year jail term and the end of his decades-long dominance of motor racing, the report added.