McKinsey & Company, the elite consulting firm that advises many of the world’s largest and most powerful institutions, is facing a federal criminal investigation of its conduct advising bankrupt companies, the New York Times reported. Prosecutors and other Justice Department officials in New York and Washington are trying to determine if McKinsey used its influence over insolvent companies in violation of the rules of chapter 11 bankruptcy by quietly steering valuable assets to itself or favoring its own clients over other creditors. Gary Pinkus, McKinsey’s North America chairman, said the firm received an inquiry from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan last year, and addressed it. “Since then, we have received no additional requests from the U.S.A.O.,” he said. In the past two weeks, investigators have conducted interviews about McKinsey’s actions in the bankruptcies of at least two companies, Alpha Natural Resources, a coal producer, and SunEdison, an alternative energy company, said one of the people, who was questioned by F.B.I. agents. The judges overseeing both those cases have already suggested that questions over McKinsey’s conduct could best be resolved by the Justice Department — either with civil actions or criminal charges. In addition to the previously unreported criminal investigation, an investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trustee, a division of the Justice Department that polices the conduct of companies in the bankruptcy system, is underway.
