The 83-year-old is alleged to have bribed Gerhard Gribkowsky, a German banker, to sell a stake of the Formula 1 business to a company he favoured.
Gribkowsky is currently serving a jail sentence for receiving a payment of €45million, but denies any wrongdoing.
While Ecclestone does not deny making the payment, he claims to have been blackmailed by Gribkowsky - alleging the banker threatened to reveal false details of his tax affairs.
He also described the statements of Gribkowsky as "wrong, misleading and not conclusive".
Ecclestone could serve up to 10 years in jail if found guilty, with his defence lawyer stating that he was happy with how the opening day had gone and at having the chance to offer his version of events.
"He was involved and signed off on our statement," said Sven Thomas.
"He is happy with this and I'm quite sure he's aware that they'll all behave very fairly regarding his position.
"So I think we are in a situation where we can make our statement and have a fair chance to explain how the events ran at that time."