SFO mulls investigation into Ecclestone bribery claims - report

LONDON (Reuters) - The Serious Fraud Office is examining whether to conduct its own investigation into the bribery allegations surrounding Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

The 81-year-old Briton told a German court earlier this month that he had paid former BayernLB banker Gerhard Gribkowsky to stay quiet and keep tax authorities at bay while acquiring Formula One rights five years ago.

Attorney-general Dominic Grieve confirmed the SFO's involvement in a letter to Emily Thornberry, his Labour counterpart, the newspaper said.

"The SFO is aware of the allegations against Mr Ecclestone and is liaising with the authorities in Germany to ascertain if there is a case in the UK to answer," the SFO is quoted as saying in the article.

(Reporting by Michelle Martin; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)