German prosecutors have instigated a probe focused on whether the two former top executives of automobile maker Porsche, who were most identified with the company's failed takeover of rival Volkswagen earlier this year, were involved in insider trading.

The duo – former chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking and chief financial officer Holger Harter – are being investigated in relation to allegations that they manipulated the stock market in connection with their firm's failed attempt to acquire the larger carmaker. According to the Wall Street Journal, officials from the German public prosecutor’s office raided Porsche's Stuttgart offices earlier this week.

As part of its strategy to purchase Volkswagen, Porsche had amassed a 50 per cent equity stake in Europe's largest car maker. In addition, it also secured options on another 20 per cent.

The investigations focus on trades that began in October 2008, and continued into this year, according to a spokeswoman for Bafin, Germany's securities watchdog. The agency is also investigating the allegations. The investigations are preliminary and not formal, she reportedly told the newspaper.

"After tip-offs from the financial watchdog Bafin, we have started an investigation on suspicion of market manipulation and the unauthorised divulgence of insider information," a spokeswoman for the Stuttgart-based prosecutors told the WSJ.

This is Bafin's second investigation into Porsche in the last year. In October, the agency opened an investigation into alleged market manipulation after a surge in the price of Volkswagen's shares after Porsche made an announcement into its ability to control 70 per cent of the larger carmarker's shares. This first investigation was closed in March without action, but the regulator instigated a new probe in May, examining the movement in Volkswagen's price over a period of time extending into this year.

Porsche has denied the latest allegations. The company said that it was cooperating with authorities in order to clarify the issue as quickly as possible, and added that the two former executives, who quit the company in July in the wake of the failed purchase, were also cooperating with the investigation.

Neither man, who both now work as consultants for Porsche, could be reached by the newspaper for comment.

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission has decided against pursing an investigation into alleged bribery at life sciences provider Millipore.

In a routine filing with the SEC, the company revealed that it had been notified by the agency in May that an investigation into the company had been completed, and that there will be no enforcement action.

The company said it self-report a potential violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by an Indian joint venture company after it had discovered them in 2006, according to the report which appeared in the Boston Globe. Through internal controls, it learned that some payments and commission practices at the joint venture raised compliance issues.

The company added it immediately investigated the case, took corrective measures, and notified federal authorities.

According to the 10-Q filing, Millipore owns a 40 per cent stake in its Indian joint-venture, which is used to distribute the company’s products in the Indian market.

Millipore said the joint-venture contributed less than 2 per cent of the company’s revenues in the first half of 2009, and that its operations and financial results were not considered material.

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