Ecclestone 'aggravated' by 400 mln dollars' claim
A German bank has claimed 400 million dollars in damages from him but Bernie Ecclestone says there is no point in even replying to it.
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone feels "aggravated" after a German bank claimed 400 million dollars in damages from him, but is not about to step down, a report said on Friday.
The demand is the latest twist in a feud which goes back to when German banks assisted in a payout to a former owner of Formula One. But Ecclestone insisted: "There's nothing to stop me running F1".
He told The Daily Telegraph: "They have asked our lawyers in Germany if they could have $400m back.
"I didn't respond -- there's no point is there? They will sue. If they win, they get paid. If they lose, it will cost them.
"I'm aggravated with the nonsense I'm being put through for all this. I sold the shares for the bank as it was something they couldn't sell.
"They had six people look at it and wouldn't buy. I got them out of trouble and now I'm in trouble. Life is like that sometimes."
BayernLB bank this week issued the demand, claiming damages for losses when former chief risk officer Gerhard Gribkowsky accepted a "bribe" to sell its stake in the sport to CVC Capital in 2006.
Ecclestone denied any payments amounted to bribery and he has insisted that he paid out only to avoid details of his finances being made public.
Gribkowsky was jailed for eight-and-a-half years after being found guilty of taking 44 million dollars from Ecclestone's Bambino Holdings trust.
BayernLB has claimed that it lost money in the deal which, it has been claimed, under-valued the business.
But Ecclestone, who will be 82 on Sunday when the Indian Grand Prix takes place, added that did not fear any of the possible outcomes.
He said: "In a massive percent of these actions, people settle (because) they don't want the trouble.
"The very reason I gave Gribkowsky money was to stop the problem and aggravation which would have gone on for years.
"I've been under a cloud for three years. Dieter (Hahn, a former BayernLB director) sued me two years ago, and I'm still waiting for that to come to court.
"If (the BayernLB claim) goes to court in England, maybe different things will come out, but there's nothing to worry about. There's nothing to stop me running F1."