F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone may have been able to make a deal with the courts to bring his bribery case to an end, but according to reports, not with the German bank BayernLB.

The German bank BayernLB which is at the centre of his bribery scandal has rejected Bernie Ecclestone’s offer of a $33 million settlement. Ecclestone was on trial for allegedly bribing banker Gerhard Gribkowsky in order to influence the sale of their major stake in Formula One back in 2005. The case ended without any conviction last week after Bernie made a $100 million payment to the court using a loophole in the legal system.

Bernie Ecclestone may have thought his legal woes were over but unfortunately for him BayernLB has rejected his $33 million settlement offer.

“BayernLB has rejected Mr Ecclestone’s settlement offer,” a spokesman for the bank told Reuters on Friday. The bank’s next step remains to be seen, though options available include civil proceedings or negotiating a higher settlement from Ecclestone.

It is however believed that BayernLB turned it down on the basis that it paid Ecclestone a consultation fee of no less than $41 million after the rights sale. Added to that, the bank was previously seeking a mammoth $400 million in damages due to Ecclestone and Gribkowsky’s alleged undervaluing of the shares.

Ecclestone told the BBC that he feels like “a bit of an idiot” for settling the matter with the German court.

“They really didn’t have a case,” he said. “The judge more or less said I was acquitted, so I was a bit of an idiot to do what I did to settle because it wasn’t with the judge, it was with the prosecutors.

“Anyway, it’s done and finished, so it’s all right. I’m content – it’s all fine. This now allows me to do what I do best, which is running F1.”