The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched a probe of the four U.S. financial institutions at the center of the crisis on Wall Street.
News reports Tuesday say the FBI is investigating potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, insurer American International Group and investment bank Lehman Brothers.
The inquiries are focused on the institutions and their executives, and are part of a wide-ranging fraud investigation by the FBI. The agency now has a total of 26 investigations related to the near-collapse of the U.S. financial sector.
One of cases involves the arrest of two former managers of investment bank Bear Stearns, who were arrested in June on on securities fraud and other charges.
Bear Stearns nearly collapsed in March of this year before it was purchased by rival J.P. Morgan Chase.
Some information for this report was provided by AP
