Photo: tracksideviews.com
The court that was handling Ecclestone's infamous bribery case has agreed to end the man's trial for a whopping $100 million. Formula 1's big man went to trial this April after he was accused of handing over $44 million to a German banker to facilitate a company interested to buy a stake in Formula 1.
The 83-year-old Briton, who's the president and chief executive officer of Formula 1 Management and Formula 1 Administration, has always denied any wrongdoing when reporters asked him about the matter. While $100 million might be a lot of dough by an average person's wealth standards, this guy is the 12th richest U.K. billionaire according to Forbes Magazine, which estimated Bernie's net worth to a mind-boggling $4.8 billion.
By paying those $100 million, Bernie walks free from a trial which could've translated to 10 years in prison if hard evidence would've been found to accuse him. Prosecutors from the district court in Munich told the media that mitigating circumstances and Bernie's age are enough reasons to excuse Ecclestone. Still, we presume that the hefty millions were the biggest reason he was excused by the court.
According to German law, defendants have the ability to "buy" the termination of a trial only in certain circumstances. However, the Formula 1 numero uno's excuse hasn't been received well by Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Germany's former justice minister. The Liberal FDP party official has told the media that this loophole is "not just bad taste… it's really insolent".
Nevertheless, the bottom line is that paying to go free it's similar to playing Monopoly. Maybe he's guilty, maybe not, but a man that accumulated such wealth has certainly done questionable things in the past.
By paying those $100 million, Bernie walks free from a trial which could've translated to 10 years in prison if hard evidence would've been found to accuse him. Prosecutors from the district court in Munich told the media that mitigating circumstances and Bernie's age are enough reasons to excuse Ecclestone. Still, we presume that the hefty millions were the biggest reason he was excused by the court.
According to German law, defendants have the ability to "buy" the termination of a trial only in certain circumstances. However, the Formula 1 numero uno's excuse hasn't been received well by Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Germany's former justice minister. The Liberal FDP party official has told the media that this loophole is "not just bad taste… it's really insolent".
Nevertheless, the bottom line is that paying to go free it's similar to playing Monopoly. Maybe he's guilty, maybe not, but a man that accumulated such wealth has certainly done questionable things in the past.
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