Apr 5, 2002 : SEC Steps Up Qwest Investigation

📅 April 5, 2002 - Qwest Communications International Inc. said late Thursday afternoon that the US Securities and Exchange Commission informed the company of the approval of a formal order of investigation.
The formal investigation gives the SEC the power to subpoena information from Qwest, one of the largest local telephone carriers in the US.
Qwest said in March that it had received requests from the SEC for the voluntary submission of certain documents relating to the company's accounting policies and procedures during 2000 and 2001, including revenue recognition, and accounting of optical capacity sales. The SEC had already been reviewing Qwest's purchase of assets from bankrupt telecommunications firm Global Crossing.
The company said on Monday that the SEC had recommended action against Qwest for excluding certain information, mostly regarding the acquisition of US West, from its January 2001 earnings release.
The SEC is also probing the company's directory publication revenue, and sales of equipment to organizations from which it would acquire services.
Qwest said in its release that it was cooperating fully with the investigation, and expects it will not comment further on the situation.