 |
Sarbanes-Oxley News & Developments
SEC Moves To Block $23 Million Payoff To MessierUS financial regulators moved to stop Jean-Marie Messier from receiving his controversial golden parachute, just a day after the former chief executive of Vivendi Universal scored a court victory over the money.
> > The SEC, the US chief financial regulator, filed an application in court in NY to impound the money pending inquiries into the tenure of Mr. Messier at the company. The application, which will be heard on September 29th, is one of the first uses by the SEC of powers granted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The law has provisions designed to help wronged investors recoup money after financial fraud. The SEC argues that since it is investigating Vivendi, Mr. Messier should not yet receive his pay-off. The application requests that the United States district court order Vivendi to place in escrow, subject to court supervision, the money that Messier is claiming.
A US court upheld the contract for Mr. Messier and dealt a blow to the debt-laden media group. Vivendi had asked the NY Supreme Court to overrule a US arbitration panel decision that approved the award.
Mr. Messier, chief executive of Vivendi Universal and its predecessor companies from November 1994 until July 2002, led what was once the largest private sector employee to the brink of bankruptcy with a string of deals and stock purchases in France.
Source: Hoovers
Published:2003-09-17
|
|
