Police raided the Paris headquarters of Vivendi Universal and the homes of its disgraced former chief Mr Jean-Marie Messier today as part of an investigation into the media giant's accounts.
French investigators swooped on the offices near the Arc de Triomphe and Mr Messier's residences in and around the French capital to search for documents in a probe into potential irregularities during the ousted chief executive's leadership.
Today's raids relate to an inquiry launched by Paris prosecutors in October following a complaint by a minority shareholders' association who alleged Mr Messier gave "false and misleading information" on Vivendi's business.
"We confirm that a search is taking place and the company is collaborating entirely with police," a Vivendi spokesman said. Judicial sources said investigators were also searching Mr Messier's houses in central Paris and in the Paris region.
Under the new leadership of Mr Jean-Rene Fourtou Vivendi has pulled itself back from its cash crisis and is cutting back its euro19 billion debt pile with aggressive asset sales.