Jean-Marie Messier, the disgraced former chairman of Vivendi Universal, has posted bail of €1.35m ($1.6m) to release himself from custody after being put under formal investigation for "share price manipulation, publishing false information and misuse of public funds".

Olivier Metzner, lawyers for Messier, also confirmed on Wednesday that Messier was barred from having any contact with former colleagues, in particular those who face similar charges. These include Guillaume Hannezo, the former chief financial officer of Vivendi, Hubert Dupont-Lhotelain, the company's ex-treasurer, and Philippe Guez, head of Deutsche Bank equities, which acted as a broker for the French media and entertainment group.