Rupert Murdoch’s media empire will not be investigated by the US Department of Justice over the phone hacking practices that took place within its newspapers in the UK.
The investigation into whether such practices took place within the US titles of New Corp. – which would have broken American anti-corruption laws – followed the closure of the News of the World in 2011.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said in a statement: “Based upon the information known to the Justice Department at this time, it has closed its investigation into News Corp. regarding possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act concerning bribes allegedly paid for news leads.”
They added: “If additional information or evidence should be made available in the future, the Department reserves the right to reopen the inquiry,” the spokesperson said.
Ferson Zweifech, group general counsel of 21st Century Fox, said in a statement that the company had been informed by the United States Department of Justice that it “had completed its investigation of voicemail interception and payments to public officials in London, and is declining to prosecute either company.”
Former editor of the Sun, Andy Coulson was sentenced to serve 18 months in jail over the practice of intercepting voicemail messages taking place at the tabloid newspaper, although former News International chief executive, Rebekah Brooke’s was cleared.
Coulson was released after serving five months of his sentence.
