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Munich court to allow trial of Deutsche Bank co-CEO Fitschen


    MUNICH (Reuters) - A German court has decided to try Deutsche Bank co-Chief Executive Juergen Fitschen and four former executives at the bank in connection with the Kirch bankruptcy case, a spokeswoman for the court said on Monday.

    The court's decision to proceed with trial after months of deliberation, while widely expected, deals a blow to Fitschen and Germany's largest bank, which faces an array of legal problems, including investigations into possible manipulation of benchmark interest rates and foreign exchange markets.

    A spokesman for Deutsche Bank said it was the company's policy not to comment on ongoing litigation. "The presumption of innocence applies to all former and current management board members," he said.

    The trial, which is scheduled to begin on April 28, will see Fitschen joined on the defendants' bench by his predecessors Josef Ackermann and Rolf Breuer and two other former management board members.

    Prosecutors last year requested a trial after investigating whether Fitschen, Ackermann, Breuer and others gave misleading evidence in a civil suit, brought by heirs of the late media magnate Leo Kirch, which ended in February 2014 after 12 years of legal wrangling.

    Those facing the allegations could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday. Deutsche Bank has previously said that it is "convinced that any suspicion against Juergen Fitschen will be shown to be unfounded".

    Fitschen and Anshu Jain took over as co-CEOs of Deutsche Bank in 2012. The leadership duo has been dogged by legal woes stemming from the bank's conduct during the global financial crisis as they work to meet strict new capital requirements from regulators.

    Kirch, who died in 2011, blamed the country's largest lender for his group's demise, setting off one of Germany's most acrimonious corporate disputes, which was settled in a deal costing Deutsche about 925 million euros ($1 billion).

    German banking supervisor Bafin has signaled that it will take no action against Fitschen if the court decides to press charges, leaving Fitschen free to manage the bank and defend himself at the same time.

    The bank's supervisory board will support Fitschen if the case comes to trial, two sources on the board told Reuters in 2014.

    (In fifth paragraph, corrects to clarify that civil suit ended in February last year)

    (Reporting by Joern Poltz; Writing by Thomas Atkins; Editing by Arno Schuetze and Pravin Char)