bild
Deutsche Bank Chairman Josef Ackermann waits for the beginning of the Mannesmann Trial at the regional court in Duesseldorf, Germany on Wednesday, 14 July 2004. Defence attorneys are continuing their closing arguments to seek an acquittal of the defendants in the controversial trial. Prosecutors demanded a guilty verdict and jail terms of one to three years on various counts of breach of trust in the huge bonus payments made after the takeover. The defendants are accused of harming Mannesmann by rewarding top executives with huge bonuses just after they agreed to the company being taken over by British-based phone group Vodafone in 2000. A verdict in the spectacular trial is expected next week. (KEYSTONE/EPA/Federico Gambarini)