Andersen's old case is unfinished, and he has encountered new troubles. However, whether Andersen participates in or colludes with WorldCom's fraud is not so important this time. Just 10 days before the fraud scandal was exposed, a federal grand jury in the United States announced that Andersen was convicted of obstructing justice. 10 10 16, the U.S. District Court of Texas made the severest judgment on Andersen: fined 500,000 U.S. dollars and banned from engaging in related business for five years.
In fact, as early as August 3 1 day after the jury verdict was announced, Andersen Certified Public Accountants announced that it would give up all auditing business in the United States and formally quit the auditing industry. Subsequently, the company closed most offices all over the country, and the number of employees dropped from 28,000 to less than 2,000. The previous 1200 clients also cut off contact with them and chose other accounting firms. This internationally renowned accounting firm began to disintegrate.
American energy giant Enron was founded in 1985, and its headquarters is in Houston, Texas, USA. With assets of US$ 49.8 billion and more than 20,000 employees, the company was once the largest natural gas trader and the largest electricity trader in the world. At its peak, its annual income reached $654.38 billion, ranking seventh among the top 500 enterprises in the United States. In addition, it was once rated as the most innovative company in America by Fortune magazine.
In 200 1 10, problems such as the company's false reporting of profits and covering up huge debts surfaced, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission immediately intervened in the investigation. Under pressure, Enron had to admit that it had falsely reported about $600 million in profits since 1997 and concealed the fact that it owed $2.4 billion. As soon as the scandal came out, Enron's share price plummeted by 75% in one day, and then shrank to less than 0.3% in its peak two days later.
2065438+February 2, 2004, 65438+2004, the company filed for bankruptcy protection with the new york Bankruptcy Court, with total listed assets of nearly $50 billion, making it the largest enterprise bankruptcy case in American history.
Enron scandal is not just an economic scandal. According to reports from The New York Times and Washington post, Enron has close ties with American political circles, and its director was a guest of honor of White House leaders. During the period from 1989 to 200 1, 7/kloc-0 senators and 187 representatives in the United States received political support from Enron. Enron also sponsored Bush to run for the US President. Many key figures in the Bush administration are Enron stock holders, which cast a political color on the Enron scandal.
During the court investigation of Enron's bankruptcy case, Andersen Certified Public Accountants, the company's auditor, destroyed some important information about Enron, including computer documents and audit reports. Based on this, the SEC believes that An Xinda's behavior has constituted a crime or intentionally obstructed judicial investigation. In March this year, Anderson was accused of obstructing justice.