Cinar Corporation stock slipped following media reports the Montreal-based production company is under investigation for alleged irregularities related to tax credit claims for Canadian content productions.

On October 14, the stock was at US$28.78 on the Nasdaq. It dropped to US$17.64 on October 18, regaining a little on October 19 to US$18.83.

Based on a tip from unnamed ‘informers,’ the story first appeared mid-October in the Journal de Montreal. While the story did not name Cinar, it said police had conducted interviews at Telefilm Canada, CAVCO and Revenue Canada.

In a prepared statement, Cinar says, ‘the allegations in the media appear to pertain to episodes produced several years ago and have no relation to the current operations and activities of the company.’ Cinar was first identified as the company under investigation when a Canadian MP raised the issue in a question to Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps in the House of Commons. Louise Sansregret, Cinar’s VP of communications, said at press time, ‘the authorities have never contacted us.’ PV & LRB