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Deutsche Bank co-CEO acquitted of attempted fraud charges

Deutsche Bank co-CEO acquitted of attempted fraud charges

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank, Juergen Fitschen, arrives to the courtroom of the district court inu00a0Munich,u00a0Germany, on Monday, April 25, 2016. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP

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.