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Enron saga: Foreign deals investigated

US federal prosecutors are investigating whether collapsed energy giant Enron had been bribing foreign government officials to win contracts for its operations abroad, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The previously undisclosed inquiry is examining Enron's efforts to win foreign pipeline, power and water-privatization projects, some as far back as the mid-1990s, in possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, said the report, citing officials and lawyers close to the case. In some countries, projects were awarded to Enron without competitive bidding, or assets were acquired at below-market values, the Journal said. Enron has denied ever paying bribes, and says that it has "a clear anticorruption policy prohibiting the payment, solicitation and receipt of bribes in any form." Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the corporation could face stiff fines if convicted.
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