IBM has received a temporary suspension from US government work in the wake of a dispute over the award of a contract.

IBM has announced that it has been prevented from seeking new federal contracts pending the result of an investigation into a 10-year, $84 million deal awarded in 2007 to CGI Federal, a subsidiary of Canada-based CGI Group Inc, which IBM protested. The company and some of its employees have been subpoenaed to appear in front of a grand jury.

In spite of this, both Big Blue and Wall Street have shrugged off the suspension, pointing to the fact that federal contracts contribute only 1-2% of its total revenues.

IBM is cooperating with the investigation.