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The Special Investigative Committee of the Board of
Directors of Enron Corp. submits this Report of Investigation to the Board of
Directors.
INTRODUCTION
As directed by the Board, this Report addresses transactions between Enron
and investment partnerships created and managed by Andrew S. Fastow, Enron's
former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), and other
Enron employees who worked for Fastow.
Many of the transactions we reviewed are extraordinarily complex. The
Committee has done its best, given the available time and resources, to conduct
a careful and impartial investigation. We have prepared a Report that explains
the substance of the transactions and highlights their most important
accounting, corporate governance, management oversight, and public disclosure
issues. An exhaustive investigation of these related-party transactions would
require time and resources beyond those available to the Committee. In light of
the Board's expressed desire for a prompt explanation of these transactions, and
pressing requests from governmental authorities to both the Committee and the
Company, we provide this Report without further delay. We believe that the
information and analysis it provides is a substantial first step in reviewing
and understanding these transactions, and serves as an important starting point
for further governmental or other investigations.
The Committee's mandate was specific and focused, so we need to explain what
we did not do. We were not asked, and we have not attempted, to investigate the
causes
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of Enron's bankruptcy or the numerous business judgments and external
factors that contributed it. Many questions currently part of public
discussion-such as questions relating to Enron's international business and
commercial electricity ventures, broadband communications, transactions in Enron
securities by insiders, or management of employee 401 (k) plans-are beyond the
scope of the authority we were given by the Board.
Formation of the Committee. On October 16,2001, Enron announced
its earnings for the third quarter of 2001. The announcement included an
unexpected aftertax charge against earnings of $544 million "related to losses
associated with certain investments, principally Enron's interest in The New
Power Company, broadband and technology investments, and early termination
during the third quarter of certain structured finance arrangements with a
previously disclosed entity." In a conference call with securities analysts that
day, Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay said that Enron's shareholders' equity was being
reduced by $1.2 billion in connection with "the early termination" of "certain
structured finance arrangements with a previously disclosed entity." Both the
$544 million charge and the reduction of shareholders' equity related to
transactions between Enron and LJM2 Co-Investment, L.P. ("UMT), a partnership
created and managed by Fastow. The immediate response from the investment
community and the media was intense and negative.
On October 22, Enron announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC") had requested that Enron voluntarily provide information about the
related-party transactions with LJM2 that had been addressed in Enron's earnings
announcement. Two
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days later, on October 24, Enron announced that Fastow would be on a
leave of absence and would be replaced as CFO.
The Board of Directors established a Special Committee on October 28,
consisting of three directors who were not employees of Enron. The Board
authorized the Committee to conduct an investigation of the related-party
transactions that were the subject of the SEC inquiry. In the weeks that
followed, two new members were added to the Board: Dean William C. Powers, Jr.
of the University of Texas School of Law and Raymond S. Troubh. Powers and
Troubh, neither of whom had been a member of the Board at the time of the
transactions under investigation, were appointed to the Committee (later renamed
the Special Investigative Committee) and Powers was named Chairman. Two of the
previously-appointed Directors stepped down so that the new Directors would
constitute a majority. As constituted after these changes, the Committee's
members are Powers, Troubh, and Herbert S. Winokur, Jr.3
3 Powers became Dean of the University of Texas Law School on
September 1, 2000. He has been on the faculty since 1977. James Derrick, Enron's
General Counsel, served on the Law School Foundation Board of Directors and the
Executive Committee of the Law Alumni Association. He resigned from both
positions when Powers was appointed to the Enron Board. He had previously been
President of the Law Alumni Association. In 1998, Enron pledged a $250,000 gift
to the Law School; the final payment was made in January 2001. Enron has also
provided $2,250 in matching money for gifts made to the Law School by Enron
employees. Vinson & Elkins has been a major financial supporter of the Law
School. The portions of the Report describing and evaluating actions of Vinson
& Elkins are solely the views of Troubh and Winokur. Winokur has been a
member of the Board of Directors of Enron since 1985. He was Chairman of the
Finance Committee during the time period relevant to this Report and
participated in the decisions of the Board and the Finance Committee that are
addressed in the Report. The portions of the Report describing and evaluating
actions of the Board and its Committees are solely the views of Powers and
Troubh.
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The Committee engaged Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering as its legal
counsel. Wilmer, Cutler engaged Deloitte & Touche LLP to provide accounting
assistance. 4 The Committee has relied on Wilmer, Cutler for legal
advice and Deloitte & Touche for advice on accounting issues.
On November 8, 200 1, Enron filed a Current Report on Form 8-K providing
additional information about the previously announced charges, and about its
business transactions with LJM2 and another limited partnership in which Fastow
had been the general partner (]LJM Cayman, L.P., known as "LJM l"). Enron also
announced its intention to restate its prior period financial statements for the
years ending December 3 1, 1997 through 2000, and the quarters ending March 31
and June 30, 2001. On November 19, 200 1, Enron filed its quarterly report on
Form I O-Q, which provided additional information about the restatement. On
December 2, 2001, Enron and certain of its subsidiaries filed voluntary
petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
4 Wilmer, Cutler has performed certain legal services distinct
from this Report and unrelated to any issues addressed in this Report for Enron
or its subsidiaries in the last five years. These consist of the representation
of an Enron subsidiary before the United States Supreme Court in Enron Power
Marketing, Inc. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, _ U.S. _, 121 S. Ct.
2587 (2001), and the representation of Enron in connection with consideration by
the European Commission of a merger of two outside entities. Deloitte &
Touche has previously performed certain accounting and tax services for Enron,
and certain limited tax-related services for Chewco Investments, not relating to
the issues discussed in this Report. It also conducted a peer review of Arthur
Andersen LLP in late 2001, including an expanded scope review of Andersen's
Houston office, although this peer review did not cover Andersen's work for
Enron.
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The Committee's Investigation. Our investigation was a
private internal inquiry. We requested and received voluntary production of
documents from many people inside and outside of Enron. Many people also
cooperated by providing information through interviews and otherwise. The
Committee's counsel reviewed more than 430,000 pages of documents and
interviewed more than 65 people, several more than once. Counsel interviewed
nine current Enron Directors, more than 50 current and former Enron employees,
and some of Enron's outside professional advisors.
There were some practical limitations on the information available to the
Committee in preparing this Report. Although the Board directed that Enron
employees cooperate with us, we had no power to compel third parties to submit
to interviews, produce documents, or otherwise provide information. Certain
former Enron employees who (we were told) played substantial roles in one or
more of the transactions under investigation-including Fastow, Michael J.
Kopper, and Ben F. Glisan, Jr.--declined to be interviewed either entirely or
with respect to most issues. Fastow provided a limited number of documents and
submitted to a brief interview, during which he declined to respond to most
questions.5
5 In addition, largely because of time constraints and resource
limitations resulting from the Company's bankruptcy, there are certain
Enron-related materials the Committee has not been able to review (or review
fully). At present, it is impossible to determine whether those materials
contain important information. For example, the Committee has had little or no
access to e-mails that are still being retrieved from archive tapes. Our counsel
has informed us that, based on experience in other investigations, review of
emails of this type may provide information that could be relevant to our
analysis and conclusions.
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Moreover, we have not had access to information and materials in the
possession of many of the relevant third parties. Arthur Andersen LLP
("Andersen") permitted the Committee to review some, but not all, of its
workpapers relating to Enron. It did not provide copies of those workpapers or
allow the Committee to interview knowledgeable Andersen personnel.
Representatives of LJMI and LJM2 (collectively, "the LJM partnerships") declined
to provide documents to the Committee and, in light of a confidentiality
agreement between those entities and their limited partners, the Committee has
not had access to materials in the possession of the limited partners.
There also may be differences between information obtained through voluntary
interviews and document requests and information obtained through testimony
under oath and by compulsory legal process. In particular, there can be
differences between the quality of evidence obtained in informal interviews
(such as the ones we conducted) and information obtained in questioning and
cross-examination under oath. Moreover, given the circumstances surrounding
Enron's demise and the many pending governmental investigations, some of the
people we interviewed may have been motivated to describe events in a manner
colored by self-interest or hindsight. We made every effort to maintain
objectivity. When appropriate, our counsel used cross-examination techniques to
test the credibility of witnesses. Within these inherent limitations, we believe
that our
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investigation was both careful and impartial, and that the evidence
developed is a
reasonable foundation on which to base at least preliminary judgment
6
6 Many of the transactions discussed in this Report are
extraordinarily complex. In order to enhance the reader's understanding, we have
taken several steps:
First, the Report uses certain conventions. The term "Enron" refers either to
Enron Corp. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, unless the context
requires greater precision. Dollar amounts or share amounts are approximate
unless the precise figure is important. Each person is identified by his or her
full name (and title, where relevant) the first time he or she is mentioned, and
thereafter by last name only. No disrespect is intended. There were literally
hundreds of people who were involved, in one way or another, in the transactions
we reviewed. To avoid confusion, we refer to all but a few of the most
substantial participants by title, position, or function rather than by name.
The Report also omits certain details of transactions where we considered it
appropriate in order to make the substance of the transaction more
understandable to the non-expert reader.
Second, where we believed it would be helpful, we have included in the text
of the report diagrams of the transactions being discussed. The diagrams omit
certain details in order to make the structure and transaction more
understandable.
Third, we have included in the Appendix both a glossary of certain terms and
a timeline showing relevant events. Those are not intended to be exhaustive or
allinclusive, but rather as summaries of relevant information.
Fourth, the historical financial data presented in this Report do not reflect
the effects, if any, of the announced restatement of prior period financial
statements, unless otherwise indicated.
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