Bank wants Ecclestone to pay back $400m

The German bank BayernLB wants Bernie Ecclestone to repay US $400 million, the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reports on Thursday.

The bank claims that is the amount it lost due to its sale of formula one shares some years ago to the sport’s current owner CVC, with the transaction having been subsequently called into question over the Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption scandal.

Suddeutsche Zeitung said BayernLB’s lawyers have sent a letter, detailing the extraordinary damages, to F1’s billionaire chief executive.

BayernLB claims that, with Gribkowsky allegedly bribed millions by Ecclestone and now providing information to authorities, the now-jailed banker vastly undervalued its F1 shares.