Bank rejects Ecclestone’s €25m settlement offer

A German bank that once held a major stake in Formula One has rejected Bernie Ecclestone’s offer of a €25m settlement in a dispute over the sale of that stake.

Earlier this week, a Munich court dropped a bribery case against Ecclestone connected to the sale of Munich-based bank BayernLB’s F1 stake in exchange for a £60m (€75m) payment. After hearing more than three months of evidence, the court said it had serious doubts the F1 boss could be convicted of bribery and incitement to breach of trust.

Separately, BayernLB has been keeping open the option of civil proceedings against the 83-year-old. The bank did preparatory work on a damages claim against Ecclestone late last year, but did not file it.