Skilling avows his innocence

TEXAS – Former Enron chief executive officer Jeffrey Skilling avowed his innocence Monday as he took the stand in his own defence at a fraud trial in Houston.

“I will fight those charges until the day I die,” Skilling said, adding that he was “absolutely innocent” and so were many of the witnesses who have testified against him. A number of former Enron executives have pleaded guilty to fraud charges in a scheme which hid massive losses from investors through complex off-the-book partnerships.Skilling and Enron founder Kenneth Lay have argued that some of these questionable accounting practices were not, in fact, illegal and that they were unaware of any wrongdoing at the energy company.A key point in the defence’s strategy is that many of the witnesses are victims of prosecutorial pressure to gain criminal convictions for a scandal which undermined the faith of Americans in corporate leaders and destroyed the retirement savings of thousands of average people.Skilling said Enron was “making the world better” and was “on the side of consumers” because its innovative practices would lead to lower energy prices.He told the court he left his post in 2001 thinking the business “had never been stronger”.Enron collapsed a few months later with estimated losses of more than US$40 billion.Skilling said he resigned because his obsessive work habits had taken a toll on his personal life: “I had not spent the time I should have with my family.”Skilling faces 28 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors.Lay, who founded Enron and served as chairman and chief executive, faces six counts of fraud and conspiracy and is expected to take the stand in his own defence in several weeks.He also faces a separate trial on federal banking violations.- Nampa-AFPA number of former Enron executives have pleaded guilty to fraud charges in a scheme which hid massive losses from investors through complex off-the-book partnerships.Skilling and Enron founder Kenneth Lay have argued that some of these questionable accounting practices were not, in fact, illegal and that they were unaware of any wrongdoing at the energy company.A key point in the defence’s strategy is that many of the witnesses are victims of prosecutorial pressure to gain criminal convictions for a scandal which undermined the faith of Americans in corporate leaders and destroyed the retirement savings of thousands of average people.Skilling said Enron was “making the world better” and was “on the side of consumers” because its innovative practices would lead to lower energy prices.He told the court he left his post in 2001 thinking the business “had never been stronger”.Enron collapsed a few months later with estimated losses of more than US$40 billion.Skilling said he resigned because his obsessive work habits had taken a toll on his personal life: “I had not spent the time I should have with my family.”Skilling faces 28 counts of fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and lying to auditors.Lay, who founded Enron and served as chairman and chief executive, faces six counts of fraud and conspiracy and is expected to take the stand in his own defence in several weeks.He also faces a separate trial on federal banking violations.- Nampa-AFP