JUNE 11, 2002

Claims against Bayerische Landesbank in EM.TV case

THE BAYERISCHE LANDESBANK, one of the major creditor banks of Kirch and therefore an important player in Formula 1 at the moment, has been accused of aiding and abetting fraud in relation to transactions involving EM.TV and Kirch. The German public prosecutor is to look into the allegations which have been made by an EM.TV shareholder who argues that the bank accepted 16.7% of SLEC (the parent company of the Formula One group) as a pledge to Kirch and thus was a party to an alleged fraud by the former EM.TV management.

The story of the Formula One group has been a sorry tale since Bernie Ecclestone sold his shares a couple of years ago with Morgan Grenfell, EM.TV and Kirch all having run into serious difficulty as a result of their investments in the sport.