Josef Ackermann, chief executive of Deutsche Bank who was acquitted last July of improperly approving multi-million bonus payments to executives at Mannesmann, the German telecoms group, is facing a retrial.

A statement from the office of Kay Nehm, the German chief prosecutor, today confirmed to Financial News that Nehm has applied to the Federal Court of Justice, Germany's highest court, to set a date for a review of the judgement reached in the case of Joachim Alexander Funke and others last year.