Enron trial: Lay and Skilling to take the stand
The trial of former Enron executives Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay will continue this week, with the prosecution expected to wrap up its case. However, according to the Wall Street Journal:
…there has been no smoking gun — no emails or incriminating papers — conclusively tying the defendants to illegal acts.
The prosecution’s case has been laid out by former executives who have testified about illegal deals to hide Enron’s ailing finances. The witnesses say that Skilling and Lay either directed or knew about the various schemes.
Ben Glisan Jr., the former treasurer of Enron testified about some of the schemes. According to the Wall Street Journal, he testified that:
…he spoke with Mr. Skilling in 2000 of a plan to use Enron stock to absorb losses on company investments through off-balance-sheet entities known as the Raptors. An outside partnership, run and partly owned by Enron’s then-chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, also took part in the Raptor deals.
Glisan also testified that he told Skilling about a feature of the partnership that helped Enron hide millions of dollars of losses, and that Lay “giggled” about the plan.
The defense case will likely rely heavily on testimony from Skilling (former president) and Lay (former chairman).
Related posts:
