|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Former Enron CFO Fastow refuses to testify
By:
Unknown Author
Washington (AP)— Enron's former chief financial officer, who collected $30 million for keeping company debt off the books, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination Thursday and refused to testify to Congress. ''On the advice of my counsel I respectfully decline to answer the questions,'' said Andrew Fastow. Fastow was dismissed after telling the committee that would be his answer to all questions posed by the panel. Michael Kopper, a former Enron officer, also invoked his Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination after promising to tell the panel the truth. Kopper saw an investment of $125,000 become $10.5 million in less than three years. The two former Enron executives were at the heart of a web of transactions that involved self-dealing and conflicts of interest and eventually led to the energy trading company's collapse. Fastow was sworn in by Rep. Jim Greenwood, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee. Greenwood was rebuffed when he asked the witness two questions about his handling of company partnerships that hid hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. "You enriched yourself by tens of millions of dollars" through deals "with your own company," Greenwood said. When Fastow said he would not answer any questions, he was dismissed. After Kopper departed, two other executives, Richard Buy and Richard Causey, also declined to answer questions. "This collapse was not brought about by isolated acts of rogue employees. It required the complicity of far more than a few bad apples," Greenwood said as he opened the hearing. Among those expected to testify were Jeffrey Skilling, Enron's former CEO, and former Enron attorney Jordan Mintz, who became so concerned about whether the off-the-books partnerships were proper that he tried to rein them in. Mintz raised questions with Buy, the chief risk officer, and Causey, the chief accounting officer, about how the partnerships were being handled late in 2000, shortly after becoming general counsel for Enron Global Finance. FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
|
