Could F1 be hit with a criminal investigation?

The UK's Serious Fraud Office has been asked to consider opening a criminal investigation linked to a potential bribery case involving Formula 1 and the FIA, according to ITV News.

ITV News has revealed details of the Concorde Implementation Agreement signed in 2013 between the Formula One Group, the sport's commercial rights holder, and the FIA.

The report contends that the governing body accepted a $5 million payment from Formula One along with a 1% stake in the sport for $460,000 - an amount far inferior to the company's market value.

The Serious Fraud Office, which investigates and prosecutes serious and complex fraud claims, has now been called upon by Damian Collins, the British MP who chairs the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

The MP is asking the SFO to evaluate the agreement and assess whether it could possibly be considered a bribe.

In its defense, the FIA says the Concorde Implementation Agreement ensured that it is "properly remunerated for its regulatory role".

The FIA said the $5 million was "properly accounted for" and that "no individual received any payment out of this sum".

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As the acting CEO of F1 at the time, Bernie Ecclestone signed off on the agreement but told ITV News that he had not been involved in the deal's negotiation, pointing to then controlling shareholder CVC and its chairman Donald MacKenzie for further insight.

A spokesman for CVC told ITV News:

"The agreement does not breach the Bribery Act, and any suggestion to the contrary can only be based on a misunderstanding of the facts and is false. We have recently confirmed this with our outside legal advisers.

"Any suggestion that CVC or Mr MacKenzie was involved in bribery, whether through these arrangements between F1 and the FIA or otherwise, would be baseless and wrong."

In a statement Formula One Group, now owned by Liberty Media, said:

"The figures quoted, including the equity stake, were negotiated to ensure that the FIA could continue to provide and enforce a long-term regulatory framework, which provides safety and stability for the benefit for all key F1 stakeholders including teams, drivers, other partners and, of course, the F1 commercial rights holder itself”.

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