June 27, 2007 (LPAC)--The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has opened an investigation of BAE Systems, according to a report from unnamed sources in today's Financial Times. The SEC, says the FT, are investigating possible violations of the books and account records provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The report comes one day after BAE Systems acknowledged publicly that it is the target of a Department of Justice criminal prosecution under the same Act, in what Lyndon LaRouche has called the "scandal of the century."

Although the SEC probe would lead to a civil case, the Financial Times points out that the SEC routinely cooperates with the Department of Justice in broader criminal investigations, and has broader jurisdiction that the DoJ when it comes to foreign companies. The SEC can sometimes bring cases to court where the DoJ cannot.