Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has been charged by German prosecutors with paying a $US44 million ($A47.9 million) bribe, placing his future as head of the motor sport series in doubt.
The 82-year-old British billionaire has been under investigation since a German banker was convicted of taking the payment from him in connection with the sale of a stake in F1.
The Munich state court said Ecclestone has until mid-August to respond to charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust in connection with Gerhard Gribkowsky's management of the bank BayernLB's 47 per cent stake in F1.
Ecclestone, the long-time commercial head of F1, acknowledged during Gribkowsky's trial in 2011 that he made the payment five years earlier but said he was pressured to do so.
"The lawyers have accepted an indictment," Ecclestone told AP. "It means they have to reply to the indictment, which they are strenuously doing."
Ecclestone, whom Forbes magazine reports is worth $US3.8 billion ($A4.13 billion), said he was yet to read the indictment.
"They are alleging I bribed someone," Ecclestone said, while insisting he did "nothing illegal".
CVC Capital Partners, the investment group that has owned F1's commercial rights since 2006, issued no direct comment about the future of Ecclestone.
"Mr Ecclestone has six weeks to provide a response to this bill of indictment prior to a decision being made by the court on opening proceedings," the board of Formula One Group said in a statement. "The board will continue to monitor developments in this situation accordingly."
Ecclestone was retained as chief executive of F1 by CVC after it took control of the sport following the takeover that sparked the bribery case.
Gribkowsky was in charge of selling BayernLB's stake in F1 to CVC.
In addition to taking money from Ecclestone, Gribkowsky used BayernLB's funds to pay the F1 chief a $US41.4 million ($A45 million) commission and agreed to pay a further $US25 million ($A27.2 million) to Bambino Trust, a company with which Ecclestone was affiliated, prosecutors said during the 2011 trial.
Ecclestone told the court he deserved a commission for the sale, saying "I did a very, very good job".
On Wednesday, he told the AP: "They wanted money. I was shaken down by the guys. It's happened in life before."
Gribkowsky, who has largely admitted the charges, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty last year of corruption, tax evasion and breach of trust.
Ecclestone's German lawyers said they would soon submit a "comprehensive response" - and the central issue will be "the varying 'confessions' of Mr Gribkowsky".
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