A Paris prosecutor has opened a preliminary inquiry into alleged balance sheet irregularitiesand misleading communications at Vivendi Universal whenMr Jean-Marie Messier was chairman of the media group.
The move comes after an association of small VivendiUniversal shareholders lodged a formal complaint at the end ofJuly charging Vivendi with "issuing false and misleadinginformation concerning its business and financial condition".
APPAC, an association of small shareholders, alleges thatsmall, private investors were misled by financial information put out under Mr Messier, who was ousted as chairman and chief executive in July and replaced by Mr Jean-Rene Fourtou.
In its complaint, the group said they had been wronged "by afalsified presentation of the account and of the financial situationof the company by Vivendi Universal managers and several otherindividuals".
The president of APPAC, Mr Didier Cornardeau, hailed theprosecutor's decision to open a preliminary legal investigation.
"It is a first victory for the small shareholders who have beenruined," he said. "In addition, we want the current directors of Vivendi Universalto take a position in relation to this complaint," he added.
"Now, we want the process to be rapid and respectful of civilrights," said Mr Cornardeau, who filed the complaint in his own nameand on behalf of APPAC.
AFP