First former Enron exec goes to jail
Nearly two years after Enron collapsed, the former treasurer at the energy trader has become the first executive to be jailed for his part in the accounting scandal which shook the global business community.
Link: Andersen and Enron FAQs
Ben Glisan was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal conspiracy in relation to the off-balance sheet vehicles that led to Enron’s collapse in November 2001.
He was charged with two dozen counts of money laundering, fraud and conspiracy. In addition to his sentence, he is will return almost $1m in illegal profits from one of the partnerships.
It is thought that his conviction will accelerate the cases against other senior executives including notorious former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, Glisan’s boss at Enron.
Fastow has been accused of the same charges laid against Glisan, and is alleged to be the mastermind behind the accounting tricks, which brought about Enron’s downfall.
Other former executives are also facing the prospect of heavy jail sentences.
Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001. Its auditor, Andersen, lost its audit licence in the US and has rapidly disintegrated since.