Arnaud Lagardere, Chief Executive of the Lagardere group of companies, said on October 15 that the French prime minister's office was fully apprised of its controversial sale of shares in the aerospace giant EADS in early 2006.
Speaking to Le Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Lagardere answered "Yes, of course" when asked if then Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was aware of the sale.
He confirmed reports that his company - a major shareholder in EADS - sent a note to Villepin's office at the start of 2006 detailing the plans to sell part of its stake and discussing possible buyers.
Villepin has said he was never told of plans for the state-owned bank Le Caisse des depots et consignations (CDC) to purchase EADS shares from the Lagardere group.
The French stock market regulator is looking into charges of insider-trading by stake-holders in EADS, whose value plunged in 2006 as a result of delays in the Airbus superjumbo A380 jet programme.