Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann, currently facing “breach of trust” charges for approving controversial bonuses to Mannesmann directors, told a Düsseldorf court on Thursday that he had nothing to hide
Published:
23 January 2004 y., Friday
Josef Ackermann, one of Germany’s top bankers, smiled at TV crews and reporters as he entered the regional criminal court in Düsseldorf on Thursday and appeared nonplussed under the prosecution's magnifying glass.
“I don’t know where there is supposed to be a legal problem,” he said during his 40 minutes of testimony.
The legal problem, according to the prosecution, is that Ackermann wasted shareholders’ money when he awarded multi-million euro bonuses to five former Mannesmann executives – also on trial -- following the sale in 2000 of the German mobile phone company to the British giant, Vodafone. All six defendants face fines or prison sentences of up to 10 years if found guilty.
Mannesmann’s former chief executive, Klaus Esser, also gave testimony on Thursday. He is accused of abetting breach of trust by accepting around €30 million after the record €180 billion takeover. He said that the deal was a great victory for Mannesmann’s shareholders, but a defeat for its management board and executives.
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