FRANKFURT: Deutsche Bank co-CEO Juergen Fitschen has been acquitted of attempted fraud charges related to the bank's long-running battle with a now-deceased media mogul.

The regional court in Munich handed down the verdict Monday after a year-long trial. Also acquitted were Fitschen's predecessors as CEO, Rolf Breuer and Josef Ackermann, as well as former board chairman Clemens Boersig and former top executive Tessen von Heydebreck.

Prosecutors said they had tried to deceive an appeals court in an attempt to shield Deutsche Bank from damages sought by the heirs of Leo Kirch.

Kirch said Breuer's statements in a 2002 television interview led to his media empire going bankrupt. Deutsche Bank paid Kirch's heirs 925 million euros to settle the matter.