Mr Messier has always protested his innocence

Using new powers granted it last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked a court to block the payment, arguing that Vivendi is still under investigation in the US.

The move is the latest twist in a long-running battle over compensation for Jean-Marie Messier, who was ousted in July 2002 after taking much of the blame for Vivendi's financial problems.

On Monday, a US court ordered the firm to give Mr Messier the termination pay-off specified in his contract, something the firm had resisted.

The legal position is complicated by the various probes into Vivendi's accounting and reporting practices on both sides of the Atlantic.

Under suspicion

The SEC's move is only the second time it has used powers granted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a piece of legislation which aimed to clean up corporate America in the aftermath of the Enron scandal.

The SEC is interested in possible violations of securities laws by Vivendi.

The firm is under suspicion of opaque accounting practies, of misleading shareholders, and of insider trading by management.

In France, market regulator Commission des Operations de Bourse (COB) has completed a 15-month probe into Vivendi, but it is not yet clear whether action will be taken.