Formula one chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was yesterday formally accused for the first time of paying $US44 million in bribes to a German banker relating to the last sale of the sport in 2006.

In return, Ecclestone, 80, is alleged to have received $US41.4 million in commissions from Bayerische Landesbank, the state-owned German bank, while Ecclestone's family trust Bambino Holdings was paid a further $US25 million.

If the timing of the announcement, just days before the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring on Sunday, seemed more than coincidental, setting the agenda before the start of the weekend, the development is not as dramatic as it might have been.

It remains unclear whether Ecclestone will actually be forced to stand trial either in Germany or Britain. It seems certain, though, that Gerhard Gribkowsky - the man accused of accepting the bribe, who oversaw formula one's sale to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in 2006 - will do so.