Mullens, until recently a director of Bambino Holdings, the Ecclestone family
trust which paid roughly half of the $44 million to Gribkowksy, is due to
testify next Tuesday and from what the prosecutor said yesterday his
testimony may well contradict that of Ecclestone.
Ecclestone insists both he and Bambino were blackmailed by Gribkowsky, who
threatened to tell the United Kingdom tax authorities that the trust was a
sham, something which could have cost Ecclestone “in excess of £2 billion”.
On Thursday the prosecution probed the relationship between Gribkowsky,
Mullens and Ecclestone’s ex-wife, Slavica, in whose name the trust is
settled, suggesting at one point that Ecclestone might have told her to tell
Mullens that the money was to be paid.
If Ecclestone is found to have been controlling Bambino he could be liable to
pay tax under UK law.
Ecclestone appears outwardly unconcerned. Before leaving, he was warned that
he may need to return later on in the trial to give further evidence. The
billionaire said he would be happy to do so, raising a few chuckles by
politely declining the court’s modest offer of per diem expenses.
He has charmed the court this week with his dry sense of humour and charisma.
But he is not in the clear yet. There is still the possibility that HMRC may
wish to look once again at his relationship with Bambino; CVC is
understandably nervous about its name being dragged through the mud; and
with negotiations over a new Concorde Agreement — the commercial contract
which binds Formula One’s stakeholders — delicately poised with just one
year to run, the whole of Formula One will be watching with interest to see
how this case unravels.