Prosecutors in Germany have charged Deutsche Bank co-chief executive officer Juergen Fitschen and four other former top officials with lying to judges in a protracted legal battle between the bank and the now-defunct KirchGroup, a media firm.
The Munich Prosecutor’s Office said Fitschen and former CEOs Rolf Breuer and Josef Ackermann face attempted fraud charges, while two other former executives were charged with making false statements.
A court must rule whether there is enough evidence for a trial.
Photo: Reuters
Deutsche Bank said it was the bank’s policy not to comment on ongoing litigation, but referred to previous statements “underlining our belief that the allegation against Juergen Fitschen will prove unfounded.”
Fitschen has denied the charges.
Media mogul Leo Kirch, who died in 2011, had accused then-chief executive Breuer of contributing to the 2002 bankruptcy of his company by saying in an interview that banks would not lend Kirch’s company any more money.
Kirch sued. During testimony in that case, prosecutors said Breuer made false statements aimed at avoiding monetary damages against the bank.
Prosecutors said that after the court challenged the truthfulness of Breuer’s testimony, the bank made a written submission containing a false statement backing up Breuer’s account.
The five defendants all declared themselves in agreement with the statement, which contained a false assertion of fact, the prosecutors said.
Fitschen was a top Deutsche Bank executive at the time. In May 2012, he became co-CEO along with Anshu Jain.
Deutsche Bank settled with Kirch’s heirs in February by agreeing to pay 775 million euros (US$997 million).
In other banking news, the chairman of BNP Paribas plans to resign in the aftermath of the French bank’s record US$8.9 billion fine for violating US sanctions, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Baudouin Prot, 63, has told the board that he will step down, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The move comes almost three months after the banking giant pleaded guilty to US criminal charges of violating sanctions on Iran, Sudan and other countries.
The board is expected to confirm Prot’s resignation at a meeting tomorrow, the source said.
According to the source, he is to be replaced by Jean Lemierre, 64, a close adviser to Prot and a key figure in negotiating BNP Paribas’ settlement with US authorities.
Prot is expected to step down on Dec. 1.
Additional reporting by AFP
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