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III. LJM HISTORY AND GOVERNANCE
A. Formation and Authorization of LJM Cayman, L.P. and LJM2
Co-lnvestment, L.P.
Enron entered into more than 20 distinct transactions with the two LJM
partnerships. Each transaction theoretically involved a transfer of risk. The
LJM partnerships rarely lost money on a transaction with Enron that has been
closed, so far as we are aware, even when they purchased assets that apparently
declined in value after the sale. These transactions had a significant effect on
Enron's financial statements. Taken together, they resulted in substantial
recognition of income, and the avoidance of substantial recognition of loss.
This section discusses the formation and authorization of these partnerships. It
also addresses their governance insofar as it is relevant to Enron's ability to
avoid consolidating them for financial statement purposes. The Board decisions
described in this section are addressed in greater detail in Section VIII,
below.
LJM1. On June 18, 1999, Fastow discussed with Lay and Skilling
a proposal to establish a partnership, subsequently named LJM Cayman, L.P.
("LJM1'). This partnership would enter into a specific transaction with Enron.
Fastow would serve as the general partner and would seek investments by outside
investors. Fastow presented his participation as something he did not desire
personally, but was necessary to attract investors to permit Enron to hedge its
substantial investment in Rhythms NetConnections, Inc. ("Rhythms"), and possibly
to purchase other assets in Enron's merchant portfolio. Lay and Skilling agreed
to present the proposal to the Board.
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At a Board meeting on June 28, 1999, Lay called on Skilling, who in turn
called on Fastow, to present the proposal. Fastow described the structure of LJM
I and the hedging transaction (which is described in Section IV below). Fastow
disclosed that he would serve as the general partner of LJMI and represented
that he would invest $1 million. He described the distribution formula for
earnings of LJM 1, and said he would receive certain management fees from the
partnership.24He told the Board that this proposal would require
action pursuant to Enron's Code of Conduct (an action within Lay's authority)
based on a determination that Fastow's participation as the managing partner of
LJMI "will not adversely affect the interests" of Enron.
After a discussion, the Board adopted a resolution approving the proposed
transaction with LJM1. The resolution ratified a determination by the Office of
the Chairman that Fastow's participation in LJM1 would not adversely affect the
interests of Enron.
LJM l was formed in June 1999. Fastow became the sole and managing member of
LJM Partners, LLC, which was the general partner of LJM Partners, L.P. This, in
turn, was the general partner of LJM I. Fastow raised $15 million from two
limited partners, ERNB Ltd. (which we understand was affiliated with CSFB), and
Campsie Ltd. (which
24 The hedging transaction Fastow proposed included the transfer
of restricted Enron stock to LJM I. The Board was told that all proceeds from
appreciation in the value of Enron stock would go to the limited partners in LJM
1, and not to Fastow; that 100% of the proceeds from all other assets would go
to Fastow until he had received a rate of return of 25% on his invested capital;
and that of any remaining income, half would go to Fastow and half would be
divided among the partners (including Fastow) in proportion to their capital
commitments.
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we understand was affiliated with NatWest). The following is a diagram of the
LJM1 structure:
[IMAGE]
LJM 1 entered into three transactions with Enron: (1) the effort to hedge
Enron's position in Rhythms NetConnections stock, (2) the purchase of a portion
of Enron's interest in a Brazilian power project (Cuiaba), and (3) a purchase of
certificates of an SPE called "Osprey Trust." The first two of these
transactions raise issues of significant concern to this investigation, and are
described further below in Sections IV and VI. LJM2. In October
1999, Fastow proposed to the Finance Committee of the Board the creation of a
second partnership, LJM2 Co-Investment, L.P. ("LJM2"). Again, he
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would serve as general partner through intermediaries. LJM2 was intended
to be a much larger private equity fund than LJM I. Fastow said he would raise
$200 million or more of institutional private equity to create an investment
partnership that could readily purchase assets Enron wanted to syndicate.
This proposal was taken up at a Finance Committee meeting on October 11,
1999. The meeting was attended by other Directors and officers, including Lay
and Skilling. According to the minutes, Fastow reported on various benefits
Enron received from transactions with LJM1. He described the need for Enron to
syndicate its capital investments in order to grow. He said that investments
could be syndicated more quickly and at less cost through a private equity fund
that he would establish. This fund would provide Enron's business units an
additional potential buyer of any assets they wanted to sell.
The minutes and our interviews reflect that the Finance Committee discussed
this proposal, including the conflict of interest presented by Fastow's dual
roles as CFO of Enron and general partner of LJM2. Fastow proposed as a control
that all transactions between Enron and LJN12 be subject to the approval of both
Causey, Enron's Chief Accounting Officer, and Buy, Enron's Chief Risk Officer.
In addition, the Audit and Compliance Committee would annually review all
transactions completed in the prior year. Based on this discussion, the
Committee voted to recommend to the Board that the Board find that Fastow's
participation in LJM2 would not adversely affect the best interests of Enron.
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Later that day the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Herbert S. Winokur,
Jr., presented the Committee's recommendation to the full Board. According to
the minutes, he described the controls that had been discussed in the Finance
Committee and noted that Enron and LJM2 would not be obligated to engage in
transactions with each other. The Board unanimously adopted a resolution
"adopt[ing] and ratify[ing]" the determination of the Office of the Chairman
necessary to permit Fastow to form LJM2 under Enron's Code of Conduct.
LJM2 was formed in October 1999. Its general partner was LJM2 Capital
Management, L.P. With the assistance of a placement agent, LJM2 solicited
prospective investors as limited partners using a confidential Private Placement
Memorandum ("PPM") detailing, among other things, the "unusually attractive
investment opportunity" resulting from the partnership's connection to Enron.
The PPM emphasized Fastow's position as Enron's CFO, and that LJM2's day-to-day
activities would be managed by Fastow, Kopper, and Glisan. (We did not see any
evidence that the Board was informed of the participation of Kopper or Glisan;
Glisan later claimed his inclusion in the PPM was a mistake.) It explained that
"[t]he Partnership expects that Enron will be the Partnership's primary source
of investment opportunities" and that it "expects to benefit from having the
opportunity to invest in Enron-generated investment opportunities that would not
be available otherwise to outside investors." The PPM specifically noted that
Fastow's "access to Enron's information pertaining to potential investments will
contribute to superior returns." The drafts of the PPM were reviewed by Enron
in-house lawyers and Vinson & Elkins. Both groups focused on ensuring that
the solicitation did not appear to come from Enron or any of its subsidiaries.
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We understand that LJM2 ultimately had approximately 50 limited partners,
including American Home Assurance Co., Arkansas Teachers Retirement System, the
MacArthur Foundation, and entities affiliated with Merrill Lynch, J.P Morgan,
Citicorp, First Union, Deutsche Bank, G.E. Capital, and Dresdner Kleinwort
Benson. We are not certain of this because LJM2 declined to provide any
information to us. We further understand that the investors, including the
general partner, made aggregate capital commitments of $394 million. The general
partner, LJM2 Capital Management, L.P., itself had a general partner and two
limited partners. The general partner was LJM2 Capital Management, LLC, of which
Fastow was the managing member. The limited partners were Fastow and, at some
point after the creation of LJM2, an entity named Big Doe LLC. Kopper was the
managing member of Big Doe.25 (In July 2001, Kopper resigned from
Enron and purchased Fastow's interest in LJM2.) The following is a diagram of
the LJM2 structure:
25 In his capacity as an Enron employee, Kopper reported to Fastow
throughout the existence of LJM2 until his resignation in July 2001. We have
seen no evidence that Kopper obtained the required consent to his participation
in LJM2 under Enron's Code of Conduct. Kopper certified his compliance with the
Code in writing, most recently in September 2000.
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In April 2000, Enron and LJM Management L.P. entered into a "Services
Agreement" under which Enron agreed to have its staff perform certain tasks (for
a fee), including opening and closing accounts, executing wire transfers, and
"Investment Execution & Administration." The Services Agreement described
these activities as "purely ministerial," and contemplated that LJM would pay
market rates. That same month, Causey and Fastow signed an agreement regarding
the use of Enron employees by LJM1 and LJM2. The employees would continue to be
"regular, full-time" Enron employees for benefits purposes, but the LJM
partnerships would pay the bonuses, and in some cases the base salary. LJM would
also pay the costs. The memorandum describing
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this agreement says that "[i]t is understood that some activities
conducted by LJM2 employees will also be for the benefit of Enron," and that in
such cases Causey and Fastow would "reasonably agree upon allocation of costs to
Enron and LJM2." This understanding was memorialized in a second Services
Agreement dated July 17, 2000. We were unable to determine what LJM2 actually
paid for any services under these agreements.
The LJM partnerships entered into more than 20 distinct transactions with
Enron. A substantial number of these transactions raise issues of significant
concern, and are described further in Sections IV, V, and VI of this Report.
B. LJM Governance Issues
The structures of LJM I and LJM2 - in which Fastow controlled the general
partner of each partnership - raise questions about non-consolidation by Enron
of the LJM partnerships and certain entities (described in more detail below) in
which one of the LJM partnerships was an investor. In each case, Enron could
avoid consolidation under relevant accounting rules only if the entity was
controlled by an independent third party with substantive equity and risks and
rewards of ownership. The first question, then, is whether Fastow controlled LJM
I and LJM2. If so, Enron arguably would control LJM l and LJM2, and Enron would
be required to consolidate them on its financial statements.
As described above, the criteria for determining control with respect to
general partners are subjective. Nevertheless, the accounting rules indicate
that a sole general partner should not be viewed as controlling a limited
partnership if the partnership
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agreement provides for the removal of the general partner by a reasonable
vote of the limited partners, without cause, and without a significant penalty.
Similarly, other limits on the authority of the general partner, such as
requiring approval for the acquisition or sale of principal assets, could be
viewed as giving the limited partners sufficient control for non-consolidation.
Both LJM1 and LJM2 present substantial questions about whether Fastow was in
effective control. Fastow was the effective general partner of both
partnerships, and had management authority over them. On the other hand, both
partnership agreements limited the general partner's investment authority, and
required approval of certain investment decisions by the limited partners.
Moreover, the LJM2 partnership agreement provided for removal of the general
partner, without cause, by a recommendation of an Advisory Committee and a vote
of the limited partners (initially limited partners with 75% in interest, later
reduced to two-thirds). Given the role of the limited partners (which were
somewhat different for LJM I and LJM2, and in the case of LJM2 changed over
time), arguments could be made both for and against consolidation based on
Fastow's control of the partnerships. Andersen's workpapers include a discussion
of the limited partner oversight in LJM2 and changes in June 2000 to strengthen
the rights of limited partners to remove the general partner and members of the
Advisory Committee.
We have reviewed these issues in detail, and have concluded that there are no
clear answers under relevant accounting standards. Fastow declined to speak with
us about these issues. As we have noted, the limited partners of both ILJMI and
LJM2, citing confidentiality provisions in the partnership agreements, declined
to cooperate with our investigation by providing documents or interviews.
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