I don't think "different" means what you think it means.WhiteBlue wrote: Autoweek reported a different take on that view.
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I suppose this must be "different," too.I wrote: [...]
If Ecclestone is removed from his position, it's only likely to happen after he's incarcerated for something. Otherwise, I doubt he'll fire himself.
Mr Ecclestone says CVC “will probably be forced to get rid of me if the Germans come after me. It’s pretty obvious, if I’m locked up”.
Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he would likely be removed from his role as Formula 1 supremo if he faces further action over the Gerhard Gribkowsky bribery case.
Ecclestone is still awaiting news from German prosecutors over whether or not they intend to charge him amid allegations that he paid a bribe to Gribkowsky over the sale of F1 to CVC in 2006.
Gribkowsky has already been jailed for his part in the affair.
Although Ecclestone is adamant that a 45 million euro payment he made to Gribkowsky was not bribery, German prosecutors are still investigating if there are corruption charges to answer.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Ecclestone has conceded for the first time that if further action is taken against him then his running of F1 would likely come to an end.
Speaking about what CVC would do if he was charged, Ecclestone said: "[It] will probably be forced to get rid of me if the Germans come after me. It's pretty obvious, if I'm locked up."
CVC has already been pondering a succession plan for what happens when Ecclestone is no longer in charge, but the man himself does not believe its actions are cause to feel that it is looking to ease him out.
"They said they had hired a head-hunter to find somebody in the event that I was not going to be there - if I was going to die or something. It is the normal thing they do to keep people happy," he said.
Ecclestone's comments about his future come just a few weeks after Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo suggested that change would be needed if German prosecutors acted.
"First of all, I hope for Bernie and F1 that nothing will happen," said Di Montezemolo during a pre-Christmas media lunch. "If Bernie is accused under process I think he will be the first to give a step back in the interests of Formula 1. This could be bad for F1."
Di Montezemolo reckoned that the time had come for new younger management to take over the running of F1, so it could build a stronger future.
"We need people with a more modern view. It is the same in my company. In a couple of years I will no longer be the person for Ferrari. Someone else will come.
"What I always say to Bernie is that the one-man show in life is finished. You need a team around you. We have to ask these questions in a positive way and look ahead. Sooner or later it will happen to Bernie as to me."
Gibrowsky was convicted of taking a bribe from Bernie. He may think he is innocent, at his age dementia onset is not unheard of...but the fact remains he paid Gibrowsky.Hail22 wrote:http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/98154.html
Bernie, Believes he is innocent. But don't most people say they're innocent when the heat is being applied to them?
That is a question of resource management in my view. At the moment they would get very little reward for their effort as Bernie's word would stand against Griebkowskie's about the nature of the payment. Under the normal assumption of innocence they would probably see Bernie walking out of the court.FoxHound wrote:The question is whether the German authorities want to take the case further.
There's some good scope of punishments in German Law for him if he's found guilty:Germany has ratified the OECD Anti Bribery Convention and implemented it by adopting the above mentioned IntBestG. The convention deals with the "active" side of corruption in international business transactions and encourages legislative efforts aimed to combat foreign corruption.
Plus, looks like there's scope to add in charges:Penalties
The penalties for the aforementioned offences range from fines to imprisonment and vary substantially depending on the nature and seriousness of the offence.
Individuals
The offence of bribing a public official is punishable with a fine or a prison term of up to three years. In its aggravated form (Sec. 334 StGB), the minimum prison sentence for bribing a public official is three months, while the maximum sentence is five years. Bribing judges or arbitrators is, under certain circumstances, punishable with higher prison sentences (see Sec. 333 (2), Sec. 334 (2) StGB).
In especially serious cases, the prison sentence for bribing a public official is between one year and ten years (Sec. 335 (1) StGB). An especially serious case within the meaning of this provision typically occurs, inter alia, when the offence relates to a major benefit (starting at around 10,000 Euros).
Bribing in commercial practice is punishable with fines or imprisonment of up to three years. In especially serious cases, the sentencing range is from three months to five years in prison (Sec. 300 StGB).
The punishment for bribing delegates is imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine. In addition to a sentence of imprisonment of at least six months the court may order the loss of the ability to hold public office, to vote and to be elected in public elections (Sec. 108e (2) StGB).
With Germany taking a public "we're the leaders on cracking down on this sort of thing" approach - it'll be intersting to see what results from all this.V Associated offences: financial record keeping and money laundering
Past cases of corruption have shown that bribery is in many instances accompanied by other criminal offences including fraud (Sec. 263 et seq. StGB), embezzlement and abuse of trust (Sec. 266 StGB), restricting competition through agreements in the context of public bids (Sec. 298 StGB) and tax evasion (Sec. 370 of the German Fiscal Code). Moreover, bribery is explicitly mentioned in the provision regarding money laundering (Sec. 261 (1) No. 2 (a) StGB).
) him. Too late now though...they will hit him in the wallet, and make sure he gives up his post. But THAT won't be bribery, right?
