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Banker arrested over F1 rights deal

Gerhard Gribkowsky was a regular in the paddock when BayernLB held a stake in F1 © Sutton Images

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Gerhard Gribkowsky, the former chairman of Formula One's holding company SLEC, has been arrested.

Munich prosecutors are investigating the sale of shares in Formula One by German bank BayernLB while Gribkowsky was working as the risk manager. According to Bloomberg, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said the stake had been sold without being proper evaluation in 2006. Gribkowsky was overseeing the deal, which resulted in current owners CVC Capital Partners buying BayernLB's stake in the sport.

The spokeswoman for the prosecutors added: "According to the current findings, the suspect in turn received $50 million in payments disguised via two consultancy agreements."

The prosecutors are investigating Gribkowksy on bribery, breach of trust and tax evasion allegations.

CVC Capital partners said in a press release that it had no knowledge of any payments to Gribkowsky during the sale of the shares.

"CVC notes the press release from the Munich State Prosecutor's office relating to Bayerische Landesbank as reported in the media on 5 January 2011," read the press release. "CVC can confirm that it has no knowledge of these investigations, nor any circumstances surrounding them, and that we have had no contact with the relevant authorities, nor with Mr Gribkowsky regarding this matter. Furthermore CVC confirms that it has no knowledge of, nor any involvement in, any payment to Mr Gribkowsky or anyone connected with him in relation to CVC's acquisition of Formula One.

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