WASHINGTON (voa) – Former Enron corporation chairman Kenneth Lay sold at least $70 million in company stock last year before the energy trading giant went bankrupt. The sales were disclosed by the company on Friday.
The sales included up to $20 million of shares sold in the three weeks in August after Enron employee, Sherron Watkins, warned Mr. Lay that the company might collapse in the wake of accounting scandals.
Many of the sales came at the same time Mr. Lay was encouraging Enron’s employees to buy company stocks, assuring them that Enron’s finances were sound and future prospects were good. A large portion was sold back to Enron. It is not clear how much profit Mr. Lay made on the sales.
Congress and the Justice Department are investigating possible wrongdoing in the sudden collapse of the Houston-based company, which wiped out the life savings of many employees and shareholders, and cost thousands of Enron employees their jobs. Mr. Lay refused to testify before Congress this past week, asserting his constitutional right against self-incrimination.
Meanwhile, new documents released Friday in Texas show that Mr. Lay repeatedly wrote to President Bush while he was governor of Texas, seeking support for business projects and legislation. Some of the correspondence was also personal.
A White House spokesman termed the new documents “old news”, saying Mr. Bush received thousands of letters from people across the state while he was governor of Texas.
