Sun, 13 Apr, 2014 03:13:27 AM FTimes-STT Report, April 13 A woman is seen speaking on her cellphone beneath a Herbalife sign atop an office building in downtown Los Angeles on January 24, 2014. A US Senator is urging federal regulators to invest igate the business practices of Herbalife Ltd., the Los Angeles maker of nutrition and personal care products. Massachusetts Democrat Edward J. Markey asked the Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission to investigate Herbalife, with concern coming some 13 months after hedge fund manager Bill Ackman accused Herbalife of operating a pyramid scheme. Photo AFP-Lehtikuva. A criminal probe into multi-level marketing company Herbalife has be launched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States, according to a news report in the Financial Times.
The FBI did not any comment on the Financial Times report.
Financial Times, however, pointed out that Herbalife has not been accused of any wrongs and that the inquiry might not lead to any charges. The report also does not substantiate what the probe is about.
Bill Ackman, an American hedge fund manager has repeatedly accused the company of being a pyramid scheme which Herbalife has systematically denied.
Regarding the probe, Herbalife said it had no knowledge of any investigation by the Department of Justice or the FBI and that it had not received any request of information from either of the party.
The company which has its headquarters in Los Angeles has in the recent time past at the centre of several stirs.
Earlier this year, the US trade regulatory authority said that it had opened an inquiry related to the company's operations.
Herbalife responded to the inquiry saying that it will cooperate and regards the investigation as an opportunity to correct the misunderstandings floated in the public.
Long time use of Herbalife products has been suspected of having connection with liver damage.
These allegations were examined in the country a few years back by Evira. At that time it was estimated that around 100,000 people in the country were users of Herbalife products.
This claim has however been refuted by Herbalife.
Herbalife operates in nearly a hundred countries including Finland.
Last year the company reported sales of 4.8 bllion dollars which is about 3.5 billion euros.
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