-Caveat Lector- Euphorian spotted this on the Guardian Unlimited site and thought you should see it.
To see this story with its related links on the Guardian Unlimited site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk Bank pursues Enron's insurers for $1bn David Teather in New York Monday December 02 2002 The Guardian JP Morgan Chase yesterday began its move to wring $1bn in Enron-related losses out of 11 insurance companies which have refused to honour contracts signed before the energy group went bankrupt. The court case opened in Manhattan and is the first trial related to the collapse of the company since the successful prosecution of its auditor Arthur Andersen. The case begins exactly a year after Enron filed for bankruptcy and the complex deals to disguise debts began to unravel before investors. The Wall Street bank wants the insurers to honour six surety bonds they wrote to back trades involving Enron and a Jersey-based vehicle Mahonia. The insurers are ar guing that the bank misrepresented the transactions as oil and gas trades when they were in fact little more than straightforward loans. Legal experts have said that JP Morgan is pursuing a dangerous strategy. Shareholders in Enron will be eagerly watching the outcome and could use it as a basis to undertake further legal actions against the bank. It could also provide further details of some of the more complex financial engineering used by Enron. The banks that advised Enron are viewed as a more cash rich target for legal action than the company itself. The judge presiding over the case, US district judge Jed Rakoff, has twice refused JP Morgan's request that the insurers be forced to pay up without the case being presented before a jury. Lawyers for both sides were involved in jury selection yesterday and due to deliver opening arguments. The bonds covered six contracts between 1998 and 2000. JP Morgan funded Mahonia, which prepaid Enron for future delivery of gas and oil, but the energy firm defaulted when it filed for bankruptcy. They were supposed to cover the risk that Enron might default but the insurers claim to have been misled. A JP Morgan spokesman described the insurers' version of events as a "brazen distortion of the facts". He said: "The insurance companies sold us guaranteed protection against Enron credit risk. They agreed that their obligation to pay was absolute and unconditional." Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
