Ecclestone and Bambino deny the charges, claiming that they made the payments
because Gribkowsky was threatening to make false claims to the UK tax
authorities regarding Ecclestone’s control of the trust.
A Munich court is due to decide next year whether to put Ecclestone, who has
already been indicted in Germany, on trial for bribery.
Mackenzie told the High Court that Ecclestone had apologised for not
immediately telling him about the payments made to Gribkowsky after the
latter’s arrest in January 2011.
Recalling a meeting with Ecclestone in February 2011 at which he told him of
the payments, despite earlier denials, Mackenzie said: “He told me that
he had had a meeting with one of his colleagues who had reminded him that he
had made payments to Gribkowsky and he apologised for having forgotten this.
“He told me he had never lied to me and I must say that I had trouble
believing you could forget payment of $40 million.”
Mackenzie described Formula One as one of the fund’s top 10 investments but
admitted there had been downsides.
“It is a successful investment apart from the adverse publicity and this
is a good example of it,” Mackenzie told the court.
The case continues.