A second official at European aerospace and defence company EADS implicated in a smear scandal engulfing the French government has stepped down from his duties at the company.
EADS said on Tuesday Imad Lahoud, the company's research director, had asked to be discharged temporarily to prepare his defence in what has been dubbed the "Clearstream affair".
"Imad Lahoud is currently on sick leave. Like Jean-Louis Gergorin, he asked in writing to be discharged from his operational duties to prepare his defence," an EADS spokesman said. Gergorin, EADS vice president in charge of strategy, stepped down last week.
In a television interview on Monday, Lahoud denied being behind allegations that some politicians had taken bribes and were hiding them in accounts at Luxembourg finance house, Clearstream.
The affair has prompted a parliamentary vote of confidence on Tuesday in the government of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who has been accused of involvement in probing the accusations to discredit a rival, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
The list of Clearstream accounts turned out to be partially faked, and Villepin has been accused of using French spies to smear Sarkozy in order to damage his chances in next year's presidential election.
Villepin has vehemently denied targeting Sarkozy - cleared by separate investigations of holding a foreign account - or any wrong-doing.
Speaking at the Berlin ILA international airshow on Tuesday, EADS co-chief executive Noel Forgeard said the affair had nothing to do with the company.
"This is not at all a company issue. It is related to two individuals. Whatever anyone says (to the contrary) is completely wrong," Forgeard told a news conference.
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