Gerhard Gribkowsky with Bernie Ecclestone and his daughters Petra and Tamara on the grid ahead of the 2005 Italian Grand Prix Ecclestone admits making multi-million dollar payments to Gribkowsky but says this was to silence the German who he said was threatening to make false claims about his tax status that could have jeopardised his fortune. In the opening exchanges, Gribkowsky explained how he and Ecclestone had clashed after BayernLB acquired a 47 percent stake in Formula One following the collapse of the Kirch media group in 2002. As the largest shareholder, the bank wanted to reduce Ecclestone's control of the business and tensions soon developed between the two men. 'It was a case of...
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