By Eyk Henning
FRANKFURT--A Munich court will pursue allegations against
Deutsche Bank AG's current co-chief executive Jürgen Fitschen that
he and former bank executives gave false testimony in a more than
decade-old legal battle with heirs of late media mogul Leo
Kirch.
The lawsuit against five current and former executives of
Deutsche Bank for attempted collusion and false testimony will
start on April 28, the Munich regional court said Monday.
The decision by judge Peter Noll means that Mr. Fitschen will
face a trial together with former CEOs Josef Ackerman and Rolf
Breuer, and two other former executives.
"The presumption of innocence applies to all former and current
management board members," a spokesman for Deutsche Bank said. "The
bank generally doesn't comment on cases that are under way."
The case centers around the collapse of Kirch Group in 2002, and
allegations by heirs to the media empire's late founder, Leo Kirch,
that Deutsche Bank contributed to its downfall. Although Deutsche
Bank settled the Kirch case for around EUR900 million ($1 billion)
in February last year, prosecutors say Mr. Fitschen failed to
correct false statements made by former board members and Deutsche
Bank lawyers in hearings on the conflict.
Write to Eyk Henning at eyk.henning@wsj.com
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