Josef Ackermann, chairman of the group executive committee at Deutsche Bank, is set to escape a custodial jail sentence even if found guilty of involvement in improper payments to Mannesmann bosses during its takeover by telecoms rival Vodafone in 2000.

Prosecuting lawyers summing up their case against Ackermann have demanded that he serve a two-year suspended jail term for breaching the trust of Mannesmann shareholders, according to Associated Press.