Former Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow was yesterday indicted on 78 counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges in the scandal that led to the spectacular meltdown of the US energy giant.
The indictment also accuses Fastow of obstruction of justice in connection with the scandal that led to the collapse of Enron, once the seventh largest US company.
The grand jury indictment comes four weeks after similar charges were filed in criminal complaint by US prosecutors. The indictment eliminates the need for preliminary hearings and allows the case to go directly to trial.
On October 2, the 40-year-old Fastow was led handcuffed into the Houston courtroom by FBI agents to face charges that he and other officials manipulated Enron accounts to make the company look deceptively attractive to investors, then profited from inflated share prices.
Andrew Weissmann, deputy director of the federal Enron Task Force, said Fastow's first court appearance under the indictment would be on November 6. Weissman said Fastow was refusing to cooperate with the investigation, but declined further comment.
The most significant change in the indictment from the criminal complaint issued earlier this month is the obstruction of justice charge, which alleges that Fastow 'intentionally and corruptly' persuaded his former lieutenant, Michael Kopper, to withhold records and conceal other information.
The indictment states that from 1997 to October 24 2001, Fastow conspired with others to 'defraud Enron and its shareholders, the investing public,' and others.
Kopper pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Officials said he was now cooperating with the government's investigation.
