Enron accountant charged in Texas

Richard Causey was briefly handcuffed after surrendering

The former top accountant of shamed US energy giant Enron, which collapsed two years ago with massive debts, has been charged with fraud and conspiracy.

Richard Causey was released on bail of $1m after surrendering to the FBI in Houston, Texas, and appearing in court.

US Deputy Attorney General James Comey said Mr Causey and other executives had used "sophisticated tricks" to deceive the public about Enron.

A lawyer for Mr Causey said his client had done "absolutely nothing wrong".

Main man

In court, the former Enron accountant pleaded not guilty to the six charges laid against him: five counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

The dominoes continue to fall as we expose the truth about the massive fraud at Enron Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray

The 20-page indictment described him as "a principal architect and operator of the scheme to manipulate Enron's reported earnings".

Mr Causey was Enron's chief accountant from 1998 until the company collapsed in December 2001.

The 44-year-old faces up to 55 years in prison and a $5.25m fine if convicted.

He also faces a civil action from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which accuses him of filing misleading financial statements about the company.

Vigorous defence

Mr Causey did not comment on the case when approached by reporters on Thursday but one of his lawyers, Mark Hulkower, said earlier that his client would "vigorously contest any charges the government may bring".

Thousands were affected when Enron collapsed

Enron was the seventh-biggest US company and darling of Wall Street before its bankruptcy, the largest in American history.

The indictments against Mr Causey, who has been released on £1m bail, comes a week after his former colleague Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty to his fraud charges.

Mr Fastow, the former Enron chief financial officer has agreed to pay fines of about $23m (£13m), and could also face up to 10 years in prison.

His wife, Lea, who also worked for Enron, separately pleaded guilty to a tax fraud charge.

She could face five months in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine.

Net widens

The charges against both Mr Causey and Mr Fastow have increased speculation that former Enron chairman Ken Lay and chief executive Jeff Skilling could themselves now face court action.

Both have yet to be charged and their lawyers insist they did nothing wrong.

"The dominoes continue to fall as we expose the truth about the massive fraud at Enron," said Assistant Attorney General Christopher Wray.