Bernie Ecclestone’s run of good form in court continued on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Already this week, as the F1 supremo’s trial resumed in Munich, the testimony of a former BayernLB official seemed to indicate weaknesses in the prosecution’s claim that he bribed Gerhard Gribkowsky.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the good news continued for the 83-year-old.<\/p>\n
On the stand was Frederique Flournoy, a Swiss lawyer and director of Ecclestone’s family trust Bambino.<\/p>\n
Ecclestone has argued that he paid the $44 million to Gribkowsky only because the jailed former banker was threatening him over his personal tax affairs.<\/p>\n
“Gribkowsky could have gone to the (tax authorities) which would have prompted them to rebound the investigation or issue a tax bill against whoever based on him as a witness,” Flournoy explained.<\/p>\n
Judge Peter Noll, however, told Flournoy he finds it “very difficult to comprehend” that Ecclestone took Gribkowsky’s alleged threats seriously.<\/p>\n
But Flournoy replied that UK authorities have “extreme powers”, and so Ecclestone was rightly nervous about the prospect of an investigation.<\/p>\n
“You can never be sure what the interpretation will be in the end,” said Flournoy.<\/p>\n
“We as lawyers know how difficult it is to prove that something isn’t the case.”<\/p>\n
And yet another bit of good news for Ecclestone is judge Noll’s apparent admission that the diminutive Briton – if he did bribe Gribkowsky – might not have known he was actually bribing a public official.<\/p>\n
According to DPA news agency, Noll seems to suspect that Ecclestone – like many others – presumed BayernLB was not state-owned but merely a “normal” commercial bank.<\/p>\n
The penalties for bribing public officials are considerably higher.<\/p>\n
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