Global Crossing Delays Financial Report

Global Crossing Ltd. and affiliate Asia Global Crossing Ltd. delayed filing financial reports with regulators, citing investigations of accounting at Global, the fiber-optic network operator that filed for bankruptcy protection.

Both companies missed an April 1 deadline for submitting their annual report on sales, profit and other information of interest to shareholders that publicly traded companies must file each year to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Andersen can’t audit either set of books until the SEC and a panel appointed by Global Crossing’s board finish investigations into how Global Crossing reported sales of capacity on its 27-nation fiber-optic network, the filings said.

The SEC, Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. lawmakers are investigating allegations by a former employee that Global, which owns 59% of Asia Global, overstated income. Chief Executive John Legere has said those probes will help determine how the company reports income.

Global Crossing officials, who operate mainly from offices in Madison, N.J., will begin publishing monthly reports of financial operations as part of the bankruptcy protection process begun Jan. 28. The first report is due next week.