Mannesmann accused are cleared

GERMANY'S top banker and five other defendants accused of approving huge illegal payments to smooth Vodafone's £110bn takeover of Mannesmann in 2000 walked free today.

Presiding Judge Brigitte Koppenhoefer said they had no case to answer, but corporation law appeared to have been breached because the scale of bonuses awarded was 'inappropriate'. But the court has no jurisdiction to sentence on the basis of any breach of civil securities law violations.

Koppenhoefer was damning of the behaviour of lobbyists on both sides and cast doubt on some evidence from the accused at the Dusseldorf court.

'Never in 25 years have I experienced such attempts to influence justice. It ranged from telephone terror to open threats.

'The defence and the prosecution tried to influence the Press. That may be their right. I consider it inappropriate.'

Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann, former Mannesmann chairman Klaus Esser, Mannesmann's former supervisory board chief Joachim Funk, the former head of the powerful IG Metall labour union, Klaus Zwickel and J¸rgen Landsberg and Dietmar Droste, both ex-Mannesmann managers, were all cleared.

They had been charged with breach of trust to varying degrees, for approving bonuses of e57m (£38m) to management board members.

'It's a vindication for me and the payments,' said Ackermann. 'The question that needs clarifying is whether such payments will be the norm in future.'