Enron shareholders to be helped by government

Beijing News.Net
Sunday 3rd June, 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S. will help shareholders who wish to sue Wall Street banks for damages over the Enron collapse.

The Enron shareholders' $40 billion lawsuit contends that Merrill Lynch & Co., Barclays PLC and Credit Suisse Group should be held equally liable with Enron Corp. as participants in the company's accounting fraud.

The shareholders appealed to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court ruled in March that they could not proceed with their class-action lawsuit.

The high court is expected to hear arguments in the case in October.

The decision by the Securities Commission to lend its weight is regarded as a good indicator of its attitude toward investor protection.

Unions, state regulators and attorneys have been pressing the SEC to intervene in the case on the side of the Enron shareholders.

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