What promises to be one of the most spectacular corporate trials in Germany opened yesterday, in which the head of the country's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, is in the dock over his role in the takeover of German group Mannesmann by British mobile phone giant Vodafone four years ago.
The regional court of Duesseldorf will be the stage for a Hollywood-style legal blockbuster in which some observers claim the reputation of entire corporate Germany is at stake.
In a trial that could last up to six months, the court will determine whether six men, including Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann, broke the law during the record-breaking US$186 billion (150 billion euro) takeover of Mannesmann by Vodafone in 2000.
Ackermann and five others -- former Mannesmann chief Klaus Esser, the ex-boss of the powerful IG Metall labor union Klaus Zwickel, former Mannesmann supervisory board members Joachim Funk and Juergen Ladberg, and Mannesmann's one-time personnel director Dietmar Droste -- are all charged, to varying degrees, with breach of trust.
They approved a massive 111.5 million marks (US$71 million) in golden handshakes to Mannesmann board members as part of the biggest corporate takeover in post-war Germany.
Prosecutors argue the size of the payouts clearly went against the company's and shareholders' interests and were therefore illegal under German share law.
And for many critics, the so-called Mannesmann affair encapsulated the greed of corporate bosses during the high-tech boom at the end of the decade.
But the supporters of the accused argue that such large payments are common practice in other countries such as the US and sanctioning the executives would "discourage any audacious decision-making in German companies," said the head of the German federation of corporate advisors BDU, Remi Redley.
If found guilty, the accused could face heavy fines or perhaps even prison terms of up to 10 years.
But Deutsche Bank insisted this week it was confident its chief executive would be found not guilty.
Ackermann had faith in the German legal system, a Deutsche Bank spokesman said.
"We're expecting an acquittal," he said, adding that politicians and leading business figures from both inside and outside Germany had expressed their solidarity for Ackermann.
In Cologne on Monday, German Economy and Labor Minister Wolfgang Clement also acknowledged the importance of the trial for the country's reputation.
"It's a trial which is of interest to many people and one which is not unimportant for Germany as an industrial and economic site," he said.
But he added: "We have had no reason to doubt the uprightness of those involved."
The long and bitter battle for Mannesmann dates back to October 1999, when the former industrial conglomerate-turned-telecommunications group took on Vodafone in its home market by buying rival British mobile phone operator Orange.
Vodafone under its then chief executive Chris Gent promptly responded by launching a hostile takeover bid for Mannesmann in November.
And as the feud hotted up in the following months, both sides shelled out hundreds of millions of euros in publicity to persuade Mannesmann's shareholders of their different points of view.
But Vodafone's powers of persuasion proved the stronger and in February 2000, Mannesmann finally caved in and agreed to an amicable takeover.
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