Enron Connections

f.. The taxpayer-supported Export-Import Bank subsidized Enron for more than $600 million in just one transaction. Scandalous!!

From Enron's Pawns: How Public Institutions Bankrolled Enron's Globalization Game (2002, pdf):

The US Export-Import Bank provides loans and guarantees (insurance) for a variety of foreign projects. Loans, by their definition, are designed to be repaid, with interest. The question is this: did the White House place undue pressure on either agencies or the countries which would be project beneficiaries?

In 1982, under President Ronald Reagan, the United States began pressuring the World Bank to require that aid recipients allow foreign investors and move towards "market economic" policies. The United States also pressed for deregulation of the oil and gas industry abroad.

Over 10 years, the US Export-Import Bank provided $825 million to support five Enron-related projects around the world. Enron officials erved on the Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee for at least the past two years. (p 18)

Details by year and president follow:

• 1991 (George Bush President) - India: Enron proposed to set up a natural gas power plant in the town of Dabhol, in the western Indian state of Maharasthra. (p 11)
• 1992 (George Bush President) - India: Enron signs memorandum of understanding with India for Dabhol power project worth over $30 billion over its lifetime, the largest in India's history. (p 6) In the fine print of the memorandum of understanding Enron and General Electric signed with the Maharasthra State Electricity Board (MSEB) on June 20, 1992, was buried the fact that the MSEB would owe Enron $35 billion over the life of the contract, regardless of how much power the state consumed. (p 11)
• 1994 (Bill Clinton President) - India: Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Import-Export Bank provide $600 million in guarantees and financing for Enron's Dabhol power plant. Belgian, Japanese and Indian banks provide additional support over next four years. (p 6)
• 2001 (George W. Bush President)
  • April: Secretary of State Colin Powell raises Dabhol issue in meeting with Jaswant Singh, telling India's foreign minister that "failure to resolve the matter could have a serious deterrent effect on other investors." (p 8)
  • June: OPIC plans discussion of Dabhol power plant "prior to NSC (National Security Council) meeting." India's national security advisor, Brajesh Mishra, invites OPIC President Peter Watson to meet with him at the Indian ambassador's residence to discuss Dabhol project. Vice President Cheney mentions Enron in his meeting with Sonia Gandhi, the president of India's opposition Congress Party. (p 8)
  • July: "Dabhol Working Group" is created within National Security Council to advocate on Enron's behalf. (p 9)
  • August: U.S. Ambassador to India, Mr. Robert D. Blackwill, meets with Indian Government to discuss Enron situation. (p 9)
  • September 9: Senior investment officer at OPIC sends Cheney "talking points" on Enron, with note: "Attached are the Dabhol talking points for the Vice President's meeting with Foreign Minister (Jaswant) Singh." (p 9)
  • November: Email from OPIC investment officer gives OPIC's talking points on Dabhol for Bush's meeting with Prime Minister Vajpayee. (p 9)
  • November 8: Enron discloses it has overstated its earnings by $600 million, dating back to 1997. E-mail discloses that neither Bush nor his economic advisor Lawrence Lindsay could discuss Dabhol. (p 9)
  • December: Enron declares Chapter 11, files suit for $200 million coverage with OPIC for Dabhol losses. (p 9)

And how about the billions lost as a result of California energy chicanery? Fundamental Accuracy (2002), a web site devoted to an investment fraud:

In the past year, investigators have discovered that Enron was at the center of a massive the energy price-fixing-scheme. This price-fixing scheme caused false energy shortages in California and the famous California energy crisis. The crisis lead to the State of California signing $40 billion in long-term contracts in an attempt to ensure stable energy supplies for California. The State of California is facing serious budget deficits and California residents are still paying the cost for this on their monthly energy bills. Lawsuits are underway that may lead to the cancellation of the long-term energy contracts.