News Corp hires U.S. compliance officials: FT

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has hired a senior official from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a former federal prosecutor to lead new compliance units, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Gerson Zweifach, News Corp's general counsel and new chief compliance officer, is set to announce five appointments on Monday, the FT said.

They include John McCoy, the associate regional director of the SEC's enforcement arm in Los Angeles, and Brian Michael, a former federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York.

News Corp had moved to a more centralized compliance structure with five officers reporting to Zweifach and responsible for the company's activities in different geographical regions.

"They will study internal controls, figure out how to make them stronger, test them and report directly to me on anything that needs further examination," the newspaper quoted Zweifach as saying.

(Writing by Stephen Mangan; Editing by Dale Hudson)