U.S. Attorney's office looking into RIM's options granting
Another government agency is taking interest in Research In Motion's accounting practices.
Following its own internal review of the company's stock options awarded to employees, RIM said Wednesday that it has "had contact with the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York upon learning that the U.S. Attorney's office is reviewing the company's stock option grants." RIM says it plans to cooperate with any requests for information.
Earlier this month, RIM announced the Securities and Exchange Commission's informal review of the company's accounting practices had been upgraded to an official investigation.
The BlackBerry maker is currently in the process of restating its earnings because of questionable options-granting between December 1996 and August 2006. In March, RIM announced that a restatement would result in it lowering profits by $250 million over that time period, and that Co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie would step down from the company's board of directors, but retain his co-CEO title.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
