Enron's shock waves are still being felt

Robert Furst, Daniel Bayly and James Brown are accused of involvement in a transaction that helped Enron meet a 1999 profit target through a "sale" of three barges carrying generators moored off Nigeria.

The three executives, accompanied by their lawyers, surrendered at the Houston office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and were taken by car to a federal court.

They are all charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and falsify books and records, according to court papers.

Prison sentences

Mr Brown was also charged with obstruction of justice and perjury.

If convicted of conspiracy, the three face up to five years in prison.

Perjury is punishable by up to five years in prison, and the obstruction of justice charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years.

The discovery of widespread fraud at Enron led the Houston energy giant to collapse in a record bankruptcy in December 2001.

The shock waves are still being felt throughout the financial world where there has been an unprecedented crackdown on corporate corruption.

Sham sale?

Prosecutors have alleged in other Enron criminal indictments that the barge deal was designed to look like a sale, but was in fact bogus.

They also allege that Merrill was loaning money to Enron and holding the barges with the understanding that it would be paid back with interest within six months.

Merrill had no comment on the surrender of the three.

It has said it acted properly in the barge deal and was not charged in the criminal complaint.

In March it paid $80m to settle a US Securities and Exchange Commission civil complaint alleging stock fraud in the barge deal and in another transaction with Enron.

In what prosecutors have termed an "asset parking" scheme, Merrill agreed to "purchase" the barges for $28m after receiving an oral promise from Andrew Fastow, Enron's chief financial officer at the time, that Enron would buy them back at a profit to the bank.