MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's finance ministry has charged TV Azteca owner Ricardo Salinas with using privileged information in a deal that netted the media magnate $109 million but might also cost him time behind bars.

The ministry asked the Attorney General's Office to file the charges of "unlawful use of privileged information," which could carry a jail term of up to seven years for the chairman of the country's No. 2 broadcaster.

"(The charges) have been presented," a government source said Friday. Another source confirmed the case, but details of the charges were not disclosed.

The finance ministry and TV Azteca declined comment.

The accusations are related to fraud charges filed against Salinas and TV Azteca in January by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company and Salinas had been under investigation for more than a year for their part in a 2003 debt deal to bail out his cellular telephone company, Unefon, which netted him and a business partner $218 million in profit. Minority shareholders say that they were hurt by the deal, but Salinas has denied any wrongdoing.

The case against TV Azteca is the most controversial to rock the nation's developing securities market, and analysts say that it has investors questioning Mexico's commitment to corporate governance.

In afternoon trading Friday, TV Azteca's shares were 1.95% lower at 5.54 pesos on the local bourse and down 1.72% at $7.98 on Wall Street.

Last week, Mexican regulators fined TV Azteca and its management $2.3 million for their involvement in the deal.

In turn, TV Azteca filed a lawsuit against Finance Minister Francisco Gil Diaz, accusing him of trying to censor a report by the network that questions his role in a banking scandal.

Salinas, known for creating a multimillion-dollar empire by providing everything from refrigerators to cheap loans to low-income earners in Mexico, is no stranger to controversy.

In recent years, he has faced lawsuits by former local and international partners for not living up to business agreements.

But his latest dispute with the country's highest financial authority is raising concerns about the future of TV Azteca, the jewel in the crown of his vast business empire.

"I don't know what is going on with Salinas ... but (the strife) could escalate to the point where (TV Azteca) could lose its concession if they start attacking and misinforming. Media is not for that," an analyst said.

During the past few days, TV Azteca's top anchors have made a vigorous defense of the broadcaster's right to air the program on the banking scandal and have criticized Gil Diaz.

People who receive permission to operate media outlets in Mexico are forbidden by law to use them for personal purposes.