Apple shareholders have filed suit against the company, in the latest development of the options furore.
The shareholders claim Apple"s CEO Steve Jobs and other Apple executives, changed their option-grant dates to reap "millions of dollars in unlawful profits," and filed "false and misleading statements" with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a Bloomberg News report.
Nasdac has threatened to remove Apple from the stock exchange if the company fails to submit its latest financial report that will explain the reasons for the errors in options accounting.
Apple"s shareholders are likely to lose out if the company is delisted from the stock exchange.
Apple warned earlier this month that it would have to restate its historical financial statements to record non-cash charges for compensation expense relating to past stock option grants.
At the time, the company said it would delay filing a required quarterly financial report with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its fiscal quarter that ended 1 July 2006, as it continues the investigation of stock option irregularities.
Apple has requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel to respond to a formal notice from the stock exchange that the company was not in compliance with the filing requirements for continued listing.