KARLSRUHE/HAAN (dpa-AFX) - The verdict for the acid attack on energy manager Bernhard Günther is legally binding. The Federal Court of Justice confirmed the sentence of twelve years in prison for intentional grievous bodily harm against a Belgian, now 43 years old.

He had been convicted for his part in the robbery, but had not revealed his accomplice and those behind the contract crime.

On March 4, 2018, Günther, a 56-year-old top manager, had been attacked by two men near his home in Haan near Düsseldorf after jogging on a footpath, doused with highly concentrated sulfuric acid and severely burned. Günther had to undergo several operations. Eyelids and parts of his facial skin were transplanted.

Günther suspected that a person in his professional environment at the time had commissioned the acid attack in order to eliminate him as a competitor. At the time, Günther was the CFO of Innogy, which was taken over by the Eon Group a few days later.

The guilty verdict against the now 43-year-old was based primarily on a black disposable glove with traces of the Belgian's DNA. The glove had been found with a jar of sulfuric acid residue at the scene of the crime. The 43-year-old had protested his innocence until the very end. The glove with his DNA had been stolen from him and probably left at the crime scene as a false trace.

The tip on the 43-year-old and the other suspect had come from an unknown tipster who had given the names in return for substantial payments of more than 150,000 euros. After the crime, Innogy had offered a high reward for the apprehension of the perpetrators.

The Federal Court of Justice rejected the appeal with a minor change to the verdict of guilty: the BGH deleted the additional conviction for attempted intentional grievous bodily harm. This did not change the sentence./fc/DP/stw