The Munich state court confirmed today (Thursday) that Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone will face charges over payments to a German banker when the motor-racing series was sold to private equity group CVC Capital Partners in 2005.

The 83-year-old faces charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust connected with a $44m (€32m) payment to Gerhard Gribkowsky, a banker who was involved in organising the sale of the championship. A provisional April 23 date has been set for Ecclestone’s trial, according to UK pay-television channel Sky News.

Ecclestone's legal representatives in Germany, Sven Thomas and Norbert Scharf, said that "the alleged bribery did not happen" and added: "The accusations in the indictment based on Gribkowsky's statement are unfounded and do not ... add up to a coherent picture."

Ecclestone has already been accused by a German media group Constantin Medien of conspiring to undervalue the series when it was sold to CVC Capital Partners as part of an ongoing High Court case in London.

Sky News reported that Ecclestone would step down from the board of Formula One’s controlling company pending the outcome of the trial. However, he will retain day-to-day responsibility for running the series. Red Bull Racing F1 team principal Christian Horner told the Associated Press news agency on Wednesday that Ecclestone is “absolutely the best and only guy to do what he does, to take Formula One to the global reach that the sport has achieved.”

Earlier on Wednesday it emerged that Ecclestone had tabled a bid to purchase the financially-troubled Nuerburgring circuit in Germany. The race track, which last hosted a Formula One grand prix in 1976, has gone into administration.

Source: Sportbusiness