The success of the iPod has pushed up Apple's shares

Fred Anderson, who worked for Apple for 10 years to 2004, has agreed to repay $3.5m (£1.7m) of option gains, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Mr Anderson will also be fined about $150,000 but has not admitted guilt.

Apple is one of a string of firms, many of them technology, under scrutiny for backdating stock options to executives.

Court

Changing the date to take advantage of a temporary decline in the company's share price can be very lucrative.

The firm said in December it took a charge of $84m (£43m) for misdated options, some of which were awarded to boss Steve Jobs, but Apple found no misconduct by the CEO.

Mr Anderson is so far the most senior Apple executive to be embroiled in the backdating scandal at Apple, the maker of the popular iPod digital music player and Macintosh computers, and the first to be settled in court.