Ecclestone Makes Payment to End Bribery Case

Formula One racing chief Bernie Ecclestone has made an agreed-upon payment of €75 million to end a criminal bribery case against him in Germany.

The payment formally closes the case without a finding of guilt or innocence.

Ecclestone said earlier he was blackmailed into paying €33 million to a German banker to steer the sale of Bayerische Landesbank's stake in F1 to London-based buyout firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd. The banker was sentenced in 2012 to eight years in prison for accepting a bribe.