Thomas Enders, the newly installed chief executive of Airbus, has denied insider trading in shares of the planemaker's parent company EADS, according to an internal memo seen by AFP on Oct. 5.

"To be clear with you all, I never committed any insider trading and I have not been accused of insider trading by anyone, including by the (French) Financial Markets Authority (AMF)," he wrote in the memo addressed to all Airbus staff.

"I categorically reject the allegations and insinuations in the press," Enders said.

The AMF said on Oct. 3 that it had prepared a report for a judge regarding allegations of illegal share dealing at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).

Reports by Le Figaro newspaper and a knowledgeable source said around 20 EADS executives and shareholders had allegedly sold their stakes in the company knowing that it was about to disclose big problems at Airbus.

The reported illegal selling, according to Le Figaro, took place between November 2005 and March 2006.

EADS in June 2006 announced major production and delivery delays in its key A380 superjumbo project that sparked a collapse in the parent company's share price.