F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has "sensationally" offered almost £20M ($34M) "to pay his way out of the criminal trial in Munich where he is defending bribery charges," according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES. After three months in court, Ecclestone's lawyers told judges hearing corruption charges that he was willing to pay €25M ($34M) to BayernLB, "the Bavarian state bank at the center of the case, in return for criminal charges being dropped." The prosecution will now have to decide whether Ecclestone can pay and walk free "or whether there remains a case to answer, with the trial now scheduled to go on into October." Ecclestone's future control of the sport he has ruled for almost four decades "hangs on events in Munich." CVC co-Founder & Chair Donald Mackenzie said that he "would sack Ecclestone if he was found guilty in court" (LONDON TIMES, 7/29). In London, Roger Blitz wrote a statement from the Munich criminal court said that "talks between the two sides to bring the case to an early conclusion had not been completed but would continue." The court "could not say how long talks would last." A hearing scheduled for Wednesday was canceled, and the court said that "the next scheduled sitting was on August 5." The trial "comes at a delicate time for F1." The motorsport series "is attracting investor interest from cable billionaire John Malone but the timing of any sale could be affected by the trial and the future" of Ecclestone (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/29). Also in London, Daniel Johnson reported because it is a criminal case it is for the judge, Peter Noll, to decide whether the charges against Ecclestone "should be abandoned, not BayernLB." Ecclestone's lawyers' statement suggests the court process "is proving a drain on Ecclestone." He has kept a "noticeably lower profile in recent months" (TELEGRAPH, 7/29). REUTERS' Keith Weir wrote prosecutors "rejected a request from the defence to drop proceedings on the grounds of a lack of evidence." Under German law, "a settlement payment to a party involved would not necessarily bring a criminal case to an end" (REUTERS, 7/29).
