Ex-Enron Execs to Be Sued by Bolivia for Fraud

Bolivia is going to sue ex-executives from U.S. energy company Enron and former government officials for fraud in regard to a natural gas pipeline to Brazil that was constructed in the 1990s, Reuters reports.

According to Energy Minister Andres Soliz, Bolivia “has suffered one of the biggest frauds in its history.”

He told Reuters the state wants to recover profits made by Enron and its subsidiaries in Bolivia, accusing the company of paying bribes and making illegal profits from the natural gas pipeline. He also accused Enron of using irregular means to make itself the owner of 40 percent of the main Bolivia/Brazil pipeline, allowing it to charge transport costs even though the company didn’t invest in the project.

Soliz also told Reuters that Enron carried out business deals in the country with the authority of a contract signed in Miami under U.S. law but invalid in Bolivia. Soliz said Enron pledged to design, finance and build part of the gas pipeline linking the eastern Bolivian province of Santa Cruz with Brazil’s Sao Paulo at a cost of $500 million, but never fulfilled the commitment.

Compiled by Paul Kerstein

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