Deutsche cleared over share sale

The case dates back to a 2002 sale of shares

Singapore's High Court has cleared Deutsche Bank of conspiracy in a case involving the German lender's sale of shares in an Indonesian coal miner.

But it said the bank had failed in its duties by not notifying all interested parties in Singapore.

The bank sold the shares in miner Adaro after an Indonesian firm defaulted in 2002 on a $100m loan from Deutsche.

It had been alleged Deutsche conspired with another firm to sell the Adaro shares at a below-market value of $46m.

The ruling follows a long-standing fight for control of Adaro between two wealthy Indonesians - Sukanto Tanoto and the Soeryadjaya family.

Justice Kan Ting Chiu said Deutsche should have notified Tanoto's Singapore-based investment company Beckett, which had pledged the shares, that it was making the share sale.

The judge awarded Beckett "nominal damages" of $1,000 ($665).

Deutsche, which had held the Adaro shares as collateral, sold them to a company controlled by the Soeryadjaya family.

Adaro is seeking a $600m listing on the Jakarta Stock Exchange early next year.

The decision comes a day after Deutsche chief executive Josef Ackermann warned in a TV interview that the international credit crisis would hit the bank's latest three-month results.

On Thursday, Deutsche Bank shares closed 2.9% lower, the second-biggest faller on the Dax.