Fbi Probes Ual’s Employee Buyout Bid

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched a criminal investigation of last year’s $4.9 billion employee buyout of United Airlines parent UAL Corp., a Chicago business magazine reported Monday.

Bart McQuitty, a special agent in the department of organized crime, called the investigation preliminary, Crain’s Chicago Business reported. Neither McQuitty nor the magazine indicated what prompted the investigation.

FBI spokesman Bob Long on Monday declined to comment on the report. UAL spokesman Joe Hopkins said the company was not aware of an investigation. A spokesman for the United chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association said the union also had not been notified of an FBI investigation.