- WASHINGTON - The former
head of collapsed energy giant Enron Corp. testified Thursday he believed
the company was in fine financial shape when he resigned just a few months
before it filed the largest bankruptcy claim in U.S. history.
-
- Jeffrey Skilling told a congressional committee that
if it was not, he was the victim of corrupt underlings at the
company.
-
- Enron crumbled Dec. 2 under a mountain of debt debt
that investigators say was hidden from investors for years in a complex
web of shady partnerships. Thousands of investors lost their life savings,
and an internal company document has pointed at Skilling as the author
of Enron's misfortune.
-
- "I did not have any knowledge that the transaction
was designed to conceal losses," the former Enron chief executive
officer told the committee Thursday, "and I did not do anything to
withhold information from the board of directors of Enron
Corporation."
-
- But earlier in the day, former Enron treasurer Jeffrey
McMahon testified he was transferred to another section of the company
shortly after he complained to Skilling about the partnerships. McMahon
and former Enron lawyer Jordan Mintz both testified they were worried about
a possible conflict of interest involving two top Enron executives who
set up and simultaneously invested in the partnerships.
-
- Andrew Fastow
-
- They said Andrew Fastow, who at the time was Enron's
chief financial officer, and former executive Michael Kopper, were the
driving forces behind the partnership setups.
-
- Both made tens of millions of dollars from relatively
meagre investments in the partnerships. Both on Thursday refused to testify
at the committee hearings, citing their constitutional right to avoid
incriminating themselves.
-
- Two current Enron executives also refused to speak to
the committee and were also dismissed.
-
- Before the four were allowed to go, Congressman Bobby
Rush had this to say to them: "For those who refuse to testify and
know your guilt, I ask you: Was it worth it? Was the selling of your morals
worth it?"
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- That tone, lawyers who represent the main players have
claimed, is too prosecutorial, and is discouraging many current and former
Enron executives from testifying.
-
- Former CEO Ken Lay has been subpoenaed to appear before
two congressional committees next week, but his lawyers have indicated
that he, too, will refuse to testify.
-
- Written by CBC News Online staff
- http://www.cbc.ca
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