Britain's The Telegraph newspaper reports that F1 commercial rights manager Bernie Ecclestone could face questioning by German legal authorities investigating alleged improprieties involving the sale of Formula 1's commercial rights five years ago.The Briton, who has denied any wrongdoing, reportedly has pledged to cooperate fully with the investigation by Munich's state prosecutor, who arrested German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky in January. Gribkowsky served as Chief Risk Manager of Bayerische Landesbank (BayernLB), which at the time held a commercial stake in the sport along with JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers and Ecclestone's family trust Bambino Holdings. Gribkowsky is suspected of selling off a 48 percent stake of F1 without conducting a "proper valuation" beforehand, according to the German court filing.
“According to the current findings, the suspect, in turn, received $50 million in payments disguised via two consultancy agreements,” read a statement from the Munich state prosecutor's office on Jan 5.