Asked how he would respond, Ecclestone said: “We are defending it properly. It
will be an interesting case. It’s a pity it’s happened.”
Ecclestone added that it was “inevitable” that the indictment had been served.
“If someone wants to sue you, they can do it and you have to defend it,” he
said.
He told the FT that he had not been offered a way to settle the case
financially.
The development comes as Ecclestone prepares to fight charges in the High
Court on Wednesday from Constantin Medien, another former part owner of
Formula One, which claims that Ecclestone and Gribkowsky conspired to
undervalue the sport when it was sold to CVC for $1.7bn.
Ecclestone’s future as the sport’s chief executive is now likely to come under
renewed scrutiny, with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo saying last
December that he expected the 82 year-old to step down if formally charged.
“If Bernie is accused under process [formally charged with an offence] I think
he will be the first to step back in the interests of Formula One,”
Montezemolo said. “This could be bad for F1.”