Probe says Andersen abetted Enron

[UpInArms]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0311250236nov25,1,4720595.story?coll=chi-business-hed (registration required)

Chicago's Andersen accounting firm actively assisted the officers of Enron Corp. in hiding the renegade company's financial abuses, signing off on more deceptive deals than previously recognized and deliberately misleading the energy giant's board of directors, according to a bankruptcy court investigation unveiled Monday.

The 1,134-page report from bankruptcy examiner Neal Batson concludes that Enron's accountants should be held responsible for the company's downfall, along with its lawyers and senior executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.

It also contends that Enron's directors took so little responsibility for monitoring the company's finances that they could not possibly have understood the complicated fraud going on under their supervision.

<snip>

In another type of transaction aimed at concealing debt, Andersen "sought to rationalize a result favorable to its client that was strained and implausible," the report says. And in yet another case in which Andersen understood that a transaction had no economic substance, the firm approved bad accounting so Enron could boost its cash flow by $500 million, the report alleges.

...more...

and just who were those Enron BoDs?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/enron/story/0,11337,643429,00.html

Robert Belfer (1, 3)
Norman Blake (3, 4)
Ronnie Chan (2, 3)
John Duncan (1*, 4)
Wendy Gramm (2, 5)
Ken Harrison
Robert Jaedicke (2*, 4)
Kenneth Lay (1)
Charles Lemaistre(1, 4*)
John Mendelsohn (2, 5)
Jerome Meyer (3, 5)
Paulo Ferraz Pereira (2, 3)
Frank Savage (3, 4)
Jeffrey Skilling (1)
John Urquhart (3)
John Wakeham (2, 5*)
Herbert Winokur (1, 3*)

(more information on each at the link)

[Nlighten1]

1. And who aided in covering up the cover up?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. It was pretty obvious that Andersen got caught with their pants down.

What other corporation have you seen commit hari-kari at the drop of a scandal?

[UpInArms]

4. and I am reminded of that lovely ad that Cheney made for Andersen

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2119981.stm

The video, which fell into the hands of the Wall Street Journal, was made in 1996 when Mr Cheney was at Halliburton and showed his personal relationship with Andersen.

In it, he describes how Andersen gave advice "over and above" what would normally be expected from auditors.

In a short section of the video, Mr Cheney says: "I get good advice, if you will, from their people, based upon how we are doing business and how we are operating, over and above the normal, by-the-books auditing arrangement."

Last month, Andersen was convicted of obstructing justice by shredding documents relating to the failed US energy giant Enron.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. What a smoking gun.

I cannot wait for the books to be written about Cheney's devious manipulations. Heck. Why wait? Someone should start writing about them now.

[0007]

6. Yes, and also Wendy Graham saying that she knew where the money was....

...and yet no one bothers to ask her. Where did Phil Graham go in such a hurry? In fact Texas A&M doesn't want Mr. Graham to be president of their University.


Must have taught Windy how to work with numbers at Enron.

"I taught economics for 12 years at Texas A&M." Gramm said. "And I have been teaching the same subject in Congress for the past 14 years. And, believe me, Aggies are a lot smarter."

[cosmicdot]

2. I have difficulty buying that Enrons BoDs are naive of responsibility

"It also contends that Enron's directors took so little responsibility for monitoring the company's finances that they could not possibly have understood the complicated fraud going on under their supervision."

2 of them = Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling

imo Herb Winokur (Harvard Corporation re Harken; CEO of Capricorn Holdings) is as corrupt as the day is long

Wendy Gramm - Ray-gun's appointed chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and who he described as "one of the Reagan administration's most vigorous deregulators." She was named to the enron's board, just five weeks after stepping down from the CFTC, which around the same time, exempted Enron and a group of other oil and gas companies from federal regulation on some of their commodities trading. The move was a big financial boon to Enron.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/president/players/gramm.html

Ken Harrison - ties to, as former CEO, of Portland General Electric

John Mendelsohn - President, University of Texas - a convenient tie to the U of Texas Investment Mangement Company's funds http://www.utwatch.org/utimco/

Robert Belfer - Chairman, Belco Oil & Gas Corporation

just to scope out a few of 'em

```````````$$$$$```````````

for the first time in a long time maybe since forever Corporate Boards have begun sweating bullets in this country - some, more than others

[UpInArms]

7. related article: Report: Lay, others liable for claims against Enron

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2003/11/24/daily8.html

Kenneth Lay, Enron Corp.'s former chairman and CEO, has yet to be charged with a crime connecting him to any wrongdoing that led to collapse of Enron.

But according to a Reuters report, he, the bankrupt energy company's lawyers and accountants should all be held liable for claims against the Houston-based company, a bankruptcy court examiner said in a new report filed on Monday.

According to examiner Neal Batson, Lay could be liable for $94 million related to a loan from the company he paid back illegally with Enron shares.

...more...

[gratuitous]

8. Hasn't this been rather common knowledge for two years or longer?

What is taking law enforcement so long to prosecute these guys? Are they waiting for a statute of limitations to run or something?

Just a second, there's some guys wearing Ray-Bans at the door. Be right back . . .

[Barrett808]

9. Pug Winokur will not do time

The entire investigation seems to be following the "Powers Report" script: prosecute the officers, let the board off the hook.

Top Executives Blamed in Enron's Fall
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14807-2002Feb2.html

Bush/Enron Chronology
http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/unravel/Public/Chronology/Bush_Enron_Chronology_rev_0.18_10_Aug_2002.html