Letter bomb sent to Josef Ackermann

An envelope sent to one of the world's most prominent bankers contained a live letter bomb, German authorities said yesterday.

The package addressed to the Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann was sent to the lender's headquarters in Frankfurt. No one has claimed responsibility for the device. "Initial investigations show that this was an operational letter bomb," investigators from the German state of Hesse and prosecutors in Frankfurt said.

Mr Ackermann sits at global banking's high table. Besides heading Deutsche, he is also the chairman of the Institute for International Finance, the lobby group involved in talks about cutting Greece's debt.

Analysts linked the package to the growing anger directed at highly paid bankers perceived to be responsible for the financial crisis. "It seems likely the incident is linked to the groundswell of public anger toward the banking sector, as highlighted by a number of anti-capitalist protests around the world," Louise Taggart, an analyst at the security and risk services firm AKE, said.

Frank Stegmaier from the Occupy Frankfurt protest group criticised the move. "We condemn any action that is linked to violence," he said.