'Jailed' banker accusing Ecclestone of bribery testifies for first time at F1 boss' trial

The jailed German banker, who has accused Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone of bribing him to secure the sale of a Formula One stake, has reportedly testified for the first time at the corruption trial of the F1 boss.

Ecclestone, who is accused of paying a bribe of 44 million dollars to Gerhard Gribkowsky to secure the sale of a stake in the F1 business to a company he favoured, admitted making the payment but claimed he was blackmailed into it.

According to the BBC, in the first of what is expected to be four days of evidence, Gribkowsky, who is serving eight-and-a-half years for receiving the payment, apparently failed to explain why the F1 boss paid him the money

The 83-year-old Ecclestone, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years if he is found guilty, with the prosecutors at the court in Munich saying that Ecclestone was never able to give firm details to back up his innocence.

The payments were made between July 2006 and December 2007, the report added.