Deutsche Bank chief Fitschen goes on trial in Kirch case

Lawyers representing Jurgen Fitschen, Deutsche Bank's co-chief executive, have dismissed the charges against him as, "without exception, unfounded" at the start of a fraud trial stemming from the collapse of the Kirch media empire in 2002.

Mr Fitschen and four other former senior figures at Germany's biggest bank are charged with attempted fraud relating to their testimony in a 2011 civil court case over the bankruptcy of the empire of Leo Kirch, the media magnate who died the same year.

The trial is the climax of an eventful week for Deutsche, which on Thursday paid $2.5bn to authorities in the US and UK to settle allegations that it manipulated the Libor benchmark rate, and on Monday unveiled a new five-year strategy.

Alongside Mr Fitschen, two former Deutsche chief executives Josef Ackermann and Rolf Breuer, as well as two ex board members, Clemens Borsig and Tessen von Heydebreck, are standing trial. Deutsche is a secondary participant in the case.

Last February, Deutsche reached a €925m settlement with the heirs of Mr Kirch over their claim that Mr Breuer, then the bank's chief executive, had triggered the Kirch Group's 2002 bankruptcy by giving a television interview in which he suggested the media company was having trouble accessing funding.

But that settlement did not end a separate legal probe into the accuracy of the Deutsche officials' testimony - and that is the issue on which the Munich court will now decide.

Hanns Feigen, representing Mr Fitschen, said that the suggestion that Deutsche had wanted to win a mandate from the Kirch Group and therefore intended to force the media company into giving it to them was "simply false".

Mr Feigen said that documents had emerged disproving the prosecutors' claim. "This discovery is disastrous for the prosecution," he said.

Lawyers for Mr Breuer, Mr Ackermann and Mr Borsig also gave brief statements rejecting the prosecution's arguments, which were read out in detail over five hours in a packed room at the Munich courthouse. A lawyer for Mr Heydebreck said he would comment later in the trial. Mr Heydebreck also rejects the charges.

Deutsche said that it did not comment on ongoing litigation. "The presumption of innocence applies to all current and former management board members," the bank added.

Shares in Deutsche closed down 3.7 per cent at €29.02 on Tuesday.

The trial is expected to run until September.

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