Wednesday, October 2, 2002 
 

                  HOUSTON -- The former chief financial officer of Enron
Corp. was charged today with securities, wire and mail fraud, money
laundering and conspiring to inflate Enron's profits and enrich himself at
the company's expense. 
 

                  Andrew Fastow, 40, surrendered this morning to FBI agents
and had a court date later today. 
 

                  The criminal complaint charges that Fastow and others
created a scheme to defraud Enron and its shareholders through transactions
with off-the-books partnerships that made the company look more
profitable than it was. 
 

                  With the exception of Michael Kopper, a once-trusted
Fastow aide who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, the complaint
does not identify the others who allegedly participated in the scheme
that led to Enron's bankruptcy. 
 

                  Fastow, 40, arrived at the FBI's headquarters in Houston
in anticipation of an initial court appearance on charges related to
partnerships credited with fueling Enron's swift descent into bankruptcy
last year. 
 

                  He was accompanied by his attorney, John Keker. After
Fastow turned himself in, Keker quickly left. 
 

                  Fastow spent about 30 minutes inside the FBI office
before two agents led him out in handcuffs. 
 

                  Fastow is said to have devised the company's complex web
of off-the-books partnerships used to hide some $1 billion in debt from
shareholders and federal regulators. He is the most
prominent company figure targeted so far by the Justice Department. 
 

                  "Today's complaint demonstrates the effectiveness of a
swift, coordinated law enforcement response to even the most sophisticated
financial crimes," Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson told a
Washington news conference. "Our strategy is straight-forward. We aim to
put the bad guys in prison and take away their money." 
 

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