berlin: Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is back in a Munich court to answer charges of bribery in a case that could threaten his grip on the series.
Two German investigators were to testify on Friday on the second day of the trial of the 83-year-old, who appeared calm as he entered the courtroom with his attorneys.
The charges involve a $44 million (Dh162 million) payment to banker Gerhard Gribkowsky, who is serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence for taking the money, allegedly to facilitate the sale of a Munich bank’s stake in Formula One to a buyer of Ecclestone’s liking.
When the trial opened last week, Ecclestone told the court in a statement read by his lawyers he was blackmailed into the payment by Gribkowsky.
Ecclestone faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
