Bernie Ecclestone does not consider himself concerned with American justice

Bernie Ecclestone told the New York State Supreme Court that the lawsuit filed against him by the Bluewaters investment fund does not concern him since he has no property there and the events mentioned occurred outside of the United States.

Bluewaters believes it was harmed by the actions of various parties during the sale of F1’s commercial rights to CVC Capital. It estimates its lost revenue to be at least $650 million, an amount it hopes to recover in New York courts.

In a document filed with the New York State Supreme Court, Bernie Ecclestone lays out all the reasons why the American justice system in general and that of Big Apple in particular cannot rule on such a matter. He points out that none of the discussions held as part of the sale to CVC took place in the United States, nor involve companies headquartered on American soil.

He also details all of his visits to the United States. We learn that he went to New York three times, twice to negotiate a possible Grand Prix in New York or its region. What is interesting is that his trips date back to May 2008 and June 2010, while the officialization of the 10-year agreement signed with New Jersey only took place in October 2011. The F1 financial chief did not travel in person despite his years-long desire to secure such a location. However, he did travel to Sochi in October 2010 to appear alongside Vladimir Putin.

Aside from this presentation, he returns to the facts concerned by the complaint. He thus acknowledges having received a commission of 5% of the sale price of the shares held by Bayern LB and Bambino (the holding company owned by Slavica Ecclestone, in which Bernie Ecclestone claims to have no involvement in the management) to Alpha Prema UK, the financing vehicle set up by CVC to acquire the F1 rights. This commission was paid as a reward for connecting Donald McKenzie, the director of CVC Capital, with the representatives of Bayern LB and Bambino.

Moreover, he acknowledges, once again, certain payments made to Gehrard Gribkowsky, the German banker through whom the scandal broke. Nevertheless, he continues to deny that they are linked to the sale made by Bayern LB since they occurred more than eighteen months after the said sale. According to him, the sole reason for these payments was the fear that the German banker would make false declarations to the British tax authorities, which could have resulted in very significant tax adjustments for him. Therefore, the payment made was the least costly situation.

So it remains to be seen whether the American justice system will deem the F1 financier’s plea admissible.

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr