Top Executives Face Charges

Prosecutors in Düsseldorf yesterday opened the way for what has been billed as Germany's most sensational business trial when they charged six people in connection with allegedly illegal payments during Vodafone's takeover of Mannesmann three years ago.

Neither the names of the accused nor the charges laid against them were made public. But according to judicial sources yesterday the defendants included Josef Ackermann, the head of Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, Klaus Zwickel, the boss of the powerful industrial union, IG Metall, and Mannesmann's former chairman Klaus Esser. Both Mr Ackermann and Mr Zwickel were members of the Mannesmann supervisory board at the time of the company's acquisition by Vodafone.

Vodafone's chief executive, Sir Chris Gent, is understood not to be among the six. But a spokesman for the Düsseldorf prosecutors said last night: "That does not mean that preliminary inquiries concerning [Sir Chris] have been shelved."

The charges followed a two-year investigation into payments of 250m German marks (£80m) made to Mr Esser and other company officials and executives after Mannesmann's then chairman dropped his bitter resistance to Vodafone's hostile bid. The 600-page charge sheet drawn up by the prosecutors is understood to allege breach of trust and the aiding and abetting of breach of trust.

The charges must now be admitted by a Düsseldorf court which said yesterday that a decision was expected to take several months. If it did admit the charges that would open the way for a trial to start in the summer.

All six accused were members of Mannesmann's supervisory board, a judicial source said yesterday. Most of those believed to be involved have vigorously denied the charges. In a statement yesterday, Mr Esser called the charges "arbitrary" and added: "There is not the slightest suspicion of any illegal conduct on my part."

In an interview published by a Sunday newspaper, he challenged "the absurd allegation that I could be bought".

Mr Esser is seeking €100,000 (£67,000) in damages and a further €100,000 in compensation for personal suffering from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia because of the investigation.

A spokesman for IG Metall said Mr Zwickel would "do everything to demonstrate his innocence".

Deutsche Bank refused to comment on yesterday's announcement. But at a press conference earlier this month Mr Ackermann made it clear that he would not regard charges as a reason for stepping down from his post.

He criticised the investigation, questioning whether judges should be allowed to set guidelines for corporate pay. Mr Ackermann said that, according to several legal opinions, the payments were "perfectly in order".

At the time, Vodafone's £135bn acquisition of Mannesmann in 2000 was the largest corporate merger ever.