Grassley Seeks Answers on Agencies’ Dealings with Enron
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, todayasked the Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Overseas Private Investment Corp. forinformation on whether the Enron Corp. provided accurate information about its financial conditionin exchange for agency help. Grassley also asked the Congressional Research Service to research theconsequences of a corporation providing incorrect information to these agencies. Earlier, Grassleyhelped to secure details of the Enron Corp.’s dealings with these agencies, with an eye towardwhether the taxpayers would face any liability for Enron-sponsored projects after the company’scollapse. Today’s letters follow.
April 2, 2002
Mr. Eduardo Aguirre
Vice Chairman
Export-Import Bank of the United States
811 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20571
Dear Mr. Aguirre:
I appreciate your response to the January 31, 2002, letter I sent with Chairman Max Baucushighlighting the significant amount of support that the Export-Import Bank of the United States(Ex-Im Bank) provided over the years to the Enron Corp.
One of the underlying concerns of that inquiry was whether the federal government, or relatedagencies, were misled by Enron in requests for financial support, and, if so, what are the potentialconsequences. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has written to the Departmentof Justice (DoJ) asking DoJ to determine whether Enron misrepresented its financial condition inobtaining loans from OPIC.
I’m very concerned that according to a news report today, Ex-Im has no interest in a similarinquiry because it does not believe it has received any inaccurate information. This is an exceedinglytroubling statement. For example, the application for the Accroven SRL Project in Venezuelaincluded the 1998 Enron Annual Report as part of the financial information it provided to Ex-Im.
Enron has already admitted that its financial reports did not accurately portray its financial condition.The Accroven SRL project was approved by Ex-Im and $134 million dollars in assistance wasprovided. Enron has a 49.25 percent equity interest in Accroven SRL. I’m troubled by the Ex-Im’sseeming lack of interest in this matter, given that Ex-Im is backed by the full faith and credit of theU.S. government, and ultimately the taxpayers.
I’m writing to ask you to revisit this matter and either make a similar inquiry of the JusticeDepartment as was done by OPIC or provide me a detailed response of why Ex-Im believes itreceived no inaccurate financial information from Enron. Your response should include a copy of allfinancial information provided by Enron to Ex-Im for each project funded and unfunded andstatement as to its accuracy.
Thank you for your time and assistance. Please provide an answer to this letter in ten days.If you have any questions, please contact my staff member Mr. Dean Zerbe at (202) 224-5315.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley, of Iowa
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Finance
April 2, 2002
Mr. Peter S. Watson
President and CEO
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
1100 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20527
Dear Mr. Watson:
I appreciate your response to the letter I sent to you on January 31, 2002, with Chairman MaxBaucus regarding the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and its support of EnronCorp. As you know, your response highlighted significant OPIC support for a variety of Enronoverseas actions.
Today I’m writing to ask you to provide me a copy of your February 25 letter to theDepartment of Justice (DoJ) and a copy of the reply when it is received. In addition, please provideme any supporting documentation that was used in drafting the February 25 letter.Your letter addresses an important issue. That is whether the federal government, or relatedagencies, were misled by Enron in requests for financial support and, if so, what are the potentialconsequences.
Thank you for your time and assistance. Your staff has been very cooperative. If you haveany questions, please contact my staff member Dean Zerbe at (202) 224-5315.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley, of Iowa
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Finance
April 2, 2002
Director Dan Mulhollan
Congressional Research Service
LM-213
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20540
Dear Mr. Mulhollan:
I am writing to ask the American Law Division of the Congressional Research Service (CRS)to provide a memorandum on the potential civil and criminal consequences of a corporation providingfalse information to a government entity.
Specifically, I ask you to research the possible civil and criminal liability of a corporation thatprovides false, misleading or incorrect information to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation(OPIC) and the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) of the United States in an effort to obtain loans fromthese organizations.
In addition to the civil and criminal liability of a corporation, I ask that CRS research what,if any, possible civil or criminal liability there would be of a responsible officer or director of acorporation that provided false, misleading or incorrect information to OPIC or Ex-Im. If aresponsible officer or director could be held civilly or criminally liable, please discuss the legaldetermination of who would be a responsible officer or director.
Thank you for your time and assistance in this matter. I would appreciate a response within20 days. If you have any questions, please contact my staff member Dean Zerbe at (202) 224-5315.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley, of Iowa
Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Finance
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