Airbus will pay out €3.6bn to French, British and United States authorities to finally settle a long-running probe into allegations of bribery and corruption.

The most, €2.1bn, will go to the French national prosecutor, while nearly €1bn will go to the British, and the United States will receive €500 million.

According to French national financial prosecutor Jean-Francois Bohnert, the aerospace company had "acknowledged acts of corruption" during negotiations for the settlement.

It is one of the biggest ever deals made for both the UK and France in a company corruption case - but former executives are not out of the woods yet.

Former CEO Tom Enders and others could still face trial following a separate French investigation looking into individual players.

The aerospace giant has been investigated by French and British authorities over suspected corruption dating back several years and in the States over failure to comply with export rules.

In a statement earlier in the week, it said: "Airbus confirms that it has reached agreement in principle with the French Parquet National Financier, the UK Serious Fraud Office and the US authorities," Airbus said in a statement.

"These agreements are made in the context of investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption as well as compliance with the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR"). They remain subject to approval by French and U.K. courts and U.S. court and regulator.”