According to the paper, Carlyle reported a return of $5.3 billion to its investors last year, shedding all or part of 71 investments while acquiring 107 new ones and raising $7.8 billion for investment. The amount the firm paid out to investors in 2004 – when Moore's film debuted – was double the amount in 2003, said the company.

Robert Easton, the company's London managing director, told the Guardian Moore's film had no bearing on Carlyle's earnings and performance. "In defense we have less than 1 percent of our funds deployed, but it is the defense sector that gets most noise from the likes of Michael Moore," Easton told the paper.

In the film, Moore depicted former President George H.W. Bush meeting and greeting rich Saudis; Bush retired last year as an adviser to Carlyle.

But shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, "Carlyle bought out the investment in some of its funds of a half-brother of Osama bin Laden," the Guardian reported, adding Carlyle currently has "no investments in Saudi Arabia." Bin Laden and his family are native Saudis.

Moore, in his film, also hinted that the current President Bush – also a friend of the Saudi government – knew about the attacks beforehand and allowed members of bin Laden's family to escape the U.S. in the days following 9/11.

In reality, the FBI vetted each member and found them to be harmless before allowing them to board overseas flights home.

Editor's note: