Vivendi faces fresh investigations
Vivendi has admitted it is facing two further investigations in the US over its accounting practices following on from last week's revelation that its books were being looked at by French authorities.
Link: Probe launched into Vivendi accounts
The company said that the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York had opened a preliminary criminal investigation into the business and that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Florida office, which is conducting its own informal inquiry, would co-ordinate its activities with the new inquiry.
The company did not disclose what the investigations were centred around but seem likely to follow a similar line to French investigations, which are examining whether the firm published false accounts in 2000 and 2001 in order to hide the true nature of its financial situation.