In contrast, former Enron chief and close confidant of President Bush, Mr Kenneth Lay, is still refusing to testify before Congress while former chief executive officer, Mr Jeffery Skilling, is being accused of not admitting the full extent of his knowledge of the controversial partnerships that were used to hide the company's debts.

Those partnerships are increasingly becoming the focus of Congress investigators looking into the collapse of Enron, once dubbed the "largest energy trader in the world". One review commissioned by Enron found that executives hid $US1 billion in losses from employers and investors via some 3000 affiliated partnerships.