page_title: Leo Kirch
section_title: Kirch and Deutsche Bank
hierarchical_section_title: Leo Kirch / Kirch and Deutsche Bank
caption_attribution_description: English: Relief “Ludwigs Erbe” by Peter Lenk, close to Zollhaus and tourist information, Hafenstraße 5, Ludwigshafen am Bodensee, Bodman-Ludwigshafen in Germany: Right-hand part of the triptych, top: Utz Claassen, Dieter Zetsche, Ferdinand Piëch, bottom: Leo Kirch
context_page_description: Leo Kirch was a German media entrepreneur who founded the Kirch Group.
context_section_description: Kirch was identified by the Wall Street Journal to be a target of Deutsche Bank's spying scandal. Moreover, according to the WSJ, the lawfirm that was representing Kirch was the target, and perhaps victim of, an effort to infiltrate a "mole" into the firm in furtherance of the Bank's spying. Kirch sued Deutsche Bank after Rolf E. Breuer, chief executive at the time, appeared on Bloomberg Television in 2002 and commented on the Kirch Group's creditworthiness, saying that the financial sector was unwilling to lend to the company (the Kirch Group was a client of the Bank at the time). Kirch asserted that the Bank had breached German confidentiality laws and tried to damage his company's reputation, blaming the Bank for the Kirch Group's collapse. After decades of litigation, Deutsche Bank announced in 2014 that it would pay Kirch's heirs more than €775 million ($1.06 billion) in a legal settlement, although it denies the allegations contended by Kirch.
caption: Relief Ludwigs Erbe [de] by Peter Lenk, close to Zollhaus and tourist information, Hafenstraße 5, Ludwigshafen am Bodensee, Bodman-Ludwigshafen in Germany: Right-hand part of the triptych, top: Utz Claassen, Dieter Zetsche, Ferdinand Piëch, bottom: Leo Kirch
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