Officials working with Libya's new governing authority are examining whether any payments made by Societe Generale as part of its business relationship with the Libyan Investment Authority ended up in the hands of people close to Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

The French bank paid an unspecified amount to a Panama-registered company, Leinada, to help structure and advise a $1bn investment vehicle in 2008, according to deal-related documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Leinada's exact role isn't clear, but the company's involvement was criticised by some officials at Libya's sovereign-wealth fund before fighting engulfed the country.