F-1’s Ecclestone Says Gribkowsky Confession Won’t Wreck IPO

Formula One Chief Executive Officer Bernie Ecclestone said he doesn’t expect to be charged in a bribery case involving a $44 million payment to a former banker, and the dispute won’t affect the sport’s planned initial public offering.

Former Bayerische Landesbank Chief Risk Officer Gerhard Gribkowsky yesterday confessed in a Munich court to charges he took bribes from Ecclestone during the 2005 sale of the lender’s stake in the series to CVC Capital Partners Ltd. Gribkowsky was also charged with breach of trust and tax evasion.