Uber facing at least five criminal investigations from US Justice Department

Uber is facing at least five criminal investigations by the US Justice Department over numerous allegations including intellectual property theft, a lack of price transparency and the use of regulator-dodging software.

While it had been understood that the ride-sharing company is the subject of three criminal probes, Bloomberg reports that there are "at least" two more to add to Uber's long list of legal and corporate headaches.

The report notes that authorities are looking into the California-based company on a number of counts, with questions now also asked about fare-estimation tools that may have breached federal law.

This is on top of the pre-existing investigation over the secretive "Greyball" tool –a piece of software used to deceive authorities in markets where the company faced restrictions.

Fare-setting software called Cascade and Firehouse are named in the report as two points of interest, with the latter in particular highlighted for its allocation of discounts to certain passengers while excluding others.

The Justice Department's investigations will also address the ongoing furore surrounding the alleged theft of autonomous technology schematics and documents from Google spin-off Waymo, which is already the subject of a high-profile lawsuit brought by Waymo owner Alphabet.

In addition, the report speculates that awareness of the investigations has encouraged some governments to consider banning the popular app and follow in the footsteps of the UK capital, London.

Just over two weeks ago, Transport for London announced that it will not be renewing Uber's license to operate as a private hire operator from 1 October. The service is still in operation despite the deadline having passed, with Uber appealing the decision.

The news comes shortly after the appointment of Dara Khosrowshahi as Uber's new chief executive officer, replacing ousted company co-founder Travis Kalanick. Khosrowshahi was formerly head of travel-booking company Expedia.

From lawsuits and payouts, to claims of sexual harassment, senior management quitting, being banned from Italy, bribery allegations, an autonomous Uber crashing, and Kalanick yelling at one of his drivers, Uber's 2017 quickly turned into a farcical who's who of corporate calamities.

Following the death of his mother in a speedboat accident, Travis departed from the company in June 2017.