PARIS — French authorities filed preliminary charges Wednesday against a former EADS executive in a probe into allegations of insider trading at the parent company of Airbus, judicial officials said.
Bail for former deputy chief executive Jean-Paul Gut was set at 400,000 euros ($619,000), the officials said, on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.
Paris prosecutors are investigating share sales — including some by company executives — at the aerospace and defense giant before a June 2006 announcement of delays for the A380 superjumbo. The plane is made by Airbus.
When word of the problems emerged, EADS shares fell 26 percent in one day.
Gut is the second former EADS executive to be charged. Former co-CEO Noel Forgeard charged preliminarily with insider trading last month. He is free on 1 million euros ($1.5 million) bail and denies any wrongdoing.
Anne Meaux, a spokeswoman for Gut, said the charges filed late Tuesday are “the logical continuation of the procedure.” In a statement earlier Tuesday, his lawyers denied insider trading allegations against him.
EADS spokeswoman Gaelle Pellerin declined to comment.
Gut, a former deputy chief executive who oversaw strategy for Airbus’ parent, left the company last year. He has also been questioned by investigators at the French Market Authority, the AMF, which is conducting its own probe focussing on the sale of shares by 17 current and former EADS executives and shareholders DaimlerChrysler AG and Lagardere SCA.
According to the AMF report, which was published on French news web site Mediapart, Gut made 1.77 million euros on the sale of 175,000 shares.
European Aeronautic Defence &Space NV is attempting a turnaround after a rocky couple of years plagued by trouble with the A380 and management problems.
CEO Louis Gallois, promoted last year from his position as head of Airbus, is presiding over a massive restructuring program which includes 10,000 job cuts over four years.
The planemaker is also struggling to cope with the rising euro, which eats into profits. Unlike Boeing Co., many of Airbus’ costs are in euros, while it sells its planes in dollars.
EADS shares fell 0.9 percent to 13.9 euros ($21.51) Wednesday.
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