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Ex-BayernLB exec behind Formula 1 deal arrested

A former executive at Bavaria’s state-backed bank BayernLB was arrested on Wednesday under suspicion of fraud, tax evasion and taking bribes related to dealings with Formula 1 racing boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Published: 5 January 2011 15:55 CET

Ex-BayernLB exec behind Formula 1 deal arrested

Photo: DPA

Prosecutors in Munich are demanding ex-BayernLB manager Gerhard Gribkowsky explain how he amassed a fortune of $50 million (€37 million) that went untaxed.

Their investigation is centred on whether he sold the bank’s Formula 1 holdings under questionable circumstances after BayernLB took control of bankrupt media mogul Leo Kirch’s stake in the popular motor sport. The bank had hoped to recoup part of a €2-billion loan Kirch owed.

Although BayernLB initially had a difficult relationship with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, the Bavarians eventually supported him, raising suspicions Gribkowsky was compensated for ensuring the bank’s backing. BayernLB eventually sold its Formula 1 stake to the financial investor CVC in 2006.

Gribkowsky has told the German media in the past the connection to Ecclestone was pure speculation and his fortune came from family money. He was fired from his position at BayernLB in 2008. The banker is already being investigated for bungled sale of failed Austrian banking outfit Hypo Group Alpe Adria.

However, BayernLB on Wednesday said it had no reason to believe the Formula 1 sale was not carried out properly.

The Local/DPA/mry

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Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

The investigation targets Petr Bystron, the number-two candidate for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in next month’s European Parliament elections, Der Spiegel news outlet reported.

Police, and prosecutors in Munich, confirmed on Thursday they were conducting “a preliminary investigation against a member of the German Bundestag on the initial suspicion of bribery of elected officials and money laundering”, without giving a name.

Properties in Berlin, the southern state of Bavaria and the Spanish island of Mallorca were searched and evidence seized, they said in a statement.

About 70 police officers and 11 prosecutors were involved in the searches.

Last month, Bystron denied media reports that he was paid to spread pro-Russian views on a Moscow-financed news website, just one of several scandals that the extreme-right anti-immigration AfD is battling.

READ ALSO: How spying scandal has rocked troubled German far-right party

Bystron’s offices in the German parliament, the Bundestag, were searched after lawmakers voted to waive the immunity usually granted to MPs, his party said.

The allegations against Bystron surfaced in March when the Czech government revealed it had bust a Moscow-financed network that was using the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site to spread Russian propaganda across Europe.

Did AfD politicians receive Russian money?

Czech daily Denik N said some European politicians cooperating with the news site were paid from Russian funds, in some cases to fund their European Parliament election campaigns.

It singled out the AfD as being involved.

Denik N and Der Spiegel named Bystron and Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, as suspects in the case.

After the allegations emerged, Bystron said that he had “not accepted any money to advocate pro-Russian positions”.

Krah has denied receiving money for being interviewed by the site.

On Wednesday, the European Union agreed to impose a broadcast ban on the Voice of Europe, diplomats said.

The AfD’s popularity surged last year, when it capitalised on discontent in Germany at rising immigration and a weak economy, but it has dropped back in the face of recent scandals.

As well as the Russian propaganda allegations, the party has faced a Chinese spying controversy and accusations that it discussed the idea of mass deportations with extremists, prompting a wave of protests across Germany.

READ ALSO: Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

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