Wed, Dec 06, 2006
Investigation Into Fishy Stock Sales Leads To Further
Questions
EADS may have known the A380 was in
trouble as far back as February this year according to French
newspaper Le Monde. The information comes from an inquiry by AMF,
France's market regulatory agency.
AMF is looking into rumors of insider trading. As Aero-News reported earlier this
year, several EADS and Airbus higher-ups --
including Airbus' former CEO Noel Forgeard -- sold their company
stock just before the official June announcement of new delays with
the A380 program. The stock crashed the day following that
announcement.
A few days later French police raided Airbus' company
headquarters in Toulouse, France looking for evidence.
Fallout from the badly timed stock sales may have had much to do
with Forgeard's decision to resign in early July.
Germany's industrial conglomerate DaimlerChrysler and France's
defense giant Lagardere are also under the microscope as both moved
to reduce their stakes in Airbus by 7.5-percent in April. In an
ironic twist, DaimlerChrysler was one of the loudest voices
clamoring for Forgeard's resignation following news of the police
raids in Toulouse.
Le Monde says AMF's investigation has now revealed 800 EADS
employees may have been involved in the stock sell off. Among the
employees under scrutiny are Fabrice Bregier, currently the
managing director at Airbus, and Francis Auque, head of EADS
Space.
Lawsuits filed on behalf of several investor groups claim EADS'
directors were warned of likely A380 delays at a board meeting in
early March.
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