Qwest facing criminal probe

Qwest Communications, the US telecoms group, is under investigation by the US Attorney's office in Denver, and the FBI, according to a report in the WSJ Europe.

The paper, which cites "people with knowledge of the situation", doesn't say much about the depth of the probe, but such a move would be in addition to existing enquiries. Already the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking at the way the long-distance and regional telco booked revenue over the past two years.

However, Qwest has strongly denied such an investigation, its general counsel telling the WSJ: "It is outrageous that we would learn about an investigation in this way."

Telcos Global Crossing and WorldCom are facing criminal probes. Qwest - co-owner of ailing European carrier KPNQwest - also lost its CEO Jo Nacchio recently after a share price slump.