Berkshire Hathaway on Wednesday said David Sokol misled the company in the way he disclosed his financial interest in Lubrizol Corp before pushing Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett to buy it.

Berkshire's board said in a statement its audit committee was still considering the possibility of legal action against Sokol as a result of his behavior and that it would cooperate with any government investigation.

When Buffett announced Sokol's resignation in March, he said he believed Sokol had not done anything unlawful. Sokol was widely seen as Buffett's heir apparent before the news about his nearly $10 million investment in Lubrizol.

His misleadingly incomplete disclosures to Berkshire Hathaway senior management concerning those purchases violated the duty of candor he owed to the company, Berkshire said.

(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

Warren buffett