Bernie Ecclestone Pays $100 Million to Settle Bribery Trial

A German court ruled Tuesday that Formula One Chief Bernie Ecclestone  could pay $100 million in an out-of-court settlement in a bribery case. The payment is the largest in German criminal history.

"It seems that we will be successful in the settlement," Ecclestone's Lawyer Sven Thomas said on Monday, reports The Independent. "The amount is not confidential. They are talking about $100m."

The 83-year-old made the deal with prosecutors for the payout  with the Munich tribunal's blessing. The settlement will allow Ecclestone to retain control of his multi-million dollar F1 Empire.

Of the payment,  $99 million will go to the Bavarian state and $1 million to a "child hospice foundation". Thomas said that he will request the authorities to use the money to build a new Formula One track in the region.

German law allows withdrawal of criminal charges if all concerned parties agree to a payment made out to a charity or the treasury.

 "It is a settlement without any conviction, the presumption of innocence is still valid. That was a condition under which I negotiated, " Thomas  clarified.

Ecclestone, was charged with paying banker Gerhard Gribkowsky, BayernLB's former chief risk officer,  $44 million in 2006 and 2007 to avoid a takeover of his motor sports empire.

The prosecutors say that the bribe was to ensure that BayernLB sold its shares to Ecclestone's chosen buyer , CVC Capital Partners of Britain, who now have a majority stake in his company.

According to court spokesman Andrea Titz, the judges were of the opinion that a conviction was "not particularly likely" based on the evidence, reports the Agence France Press.