FIA prez Mosley sues German paper, claims sex play had no Nazi theme

BERLIN -- Motor racing boss Max Mosley has sued the publisher of Germany's largest newspaper, contending that his sex play with several prostitutes did not have a Nazi theme.

The suit is similar to the case Mosley won over a British tabloid this week.

In the new lawsuit, Mosley is demanding $1.57 million in damages from Bild newspaper, and $784,000 from its online edition, for their text, photo and video reports on Mosley's sadomasochistic orgy in March.

Mosley is president of the FIA, or Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, world motorsport's governing body. He is the son of the late Sir Oswald Mosley, a fascist British politician in the 1930s who had Adolf Hitler as a guest at his wedding.

Mosley won a privacy-invasion lawsuit Thursday over the claim by News of the World that his sex games had Nazi overtones. High Court judge David Eady ruled that the British tabloid must pay Mosley $120,000 in damages, plus legal costs.

Mosley's legal costs are estimated at $900,000. The newspaper must also pay its own legal costs of about $800,000.

The 68-year-old Mosley acknowledges the encounter with prostitutes, but says it was private and there was no Nazi theme.

The prosecutor's office in Berlin has opened an investigation based on Mosley's lawsuit, spokeswoman Simone Herbeth said Friday.

The lawsuit alleges breach of trust, violations of copyright laws and fraud, claiming Axel Springer AG, the publisher of Bild, spent money for "illegal purposes" by paying for video and photos of the orgy.