Gustav Humbert First German To Be Detained By French Investigators

Accusations of insider trading at Airbus-parent EADS continue to haunt the European consortium, two years after those charges first surfaced. This week, former Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert was hauled in for questioning by French authorities -- the third top-level EADS executive publicly implicated on charges of defrauding investors, and the first German executive in the Franco-German company to face the music.

Agence-France Presse reports Humbert (right) was detained Monday, on orders from judges Xaviere Simeoni and Cecile Pendaries. Those charges held Humbert for 48 hours, during which time he answered questions from investigators regarding shady dealings regarding the financial fallout from delays to Airbus' flagship airliner, the A380.

As ANN reported, Humbert resigned from EADS on July 3, 2006 along with EADS co-CEO Noel Forgeard. Both men were among dozens of EADS executives who dumped their stock in the company just ahead of news of a second, 22-month delay to the A380. That announcement sent EADS shares tumbling, and its finances into a tailspin it has yet to recover from.

Conversely, Humbert and Forgeard, among others, seem to have gotten out at just the right time... an oddity that raised eyebrows in the French government, and launched investigations into the suspected insider trading. Forgeard, along with EADS former general manager Jean-Paul Gut, have already been charged in the probe, though both men adamantly deny the charges.

EADS officials would "neither confirm, nor deny not comment on an ongoing investigation" Tuesday, while Humbert's lawyer could not be contacted by AFP.

In April, French market regulator AMF alleged Humbert sold off 160,000 of his shares in EADS in November 2005, a transaction worth him $2.7 million. Shortly thereafter, EADS shares started their tumble; in June 2006, Airbus added to the bad news with the announcement of the A380 delay. Investigators want to know what Humbert knew, and when.

In all, 17 past and current members of EADS -- including current Airbus CEO Thomas Enders, who served as EADS co-CEO along with Forgeard -- are suspected of insider trading, and will likely face charges.

FMI: www.eads.com, www.airbus.com, www.amf-france.org/Default.asp?lang=en