Enron chiefs took £498m payout as firm failed

Senior executives at Enron were accused yesterday of squeezing the company dry, paying themselves $744m (£498m) in the year leading up to the company's demise.

A thick file in federal bankruptcy court showed that the energy company's 144 senior managers exercised more than $400m in stock options and had salaries and bonuses worth more than $300m. Kenneth Lay, the disgraced former chairman and presidential confidant, took home $152m and Jeffrey Skilling, the chief executive, more than $35m.

Thomas White, an Enron executive who became Secretary of the Army in the Bush administration, was paid more than $17m. Another beneficiary was Wendy Gramm, an Enron board member and the wife of Republican senator Phil Gramm, who has campaigned for energy sector deregulation.

At the time, Enron was collapsing under a mountain of hidden debt. The rank-and-file employees were banned from selling their company stock before its value crashed, devastating their savings.

As well as bankruptcy proceedings, Enron is also being investigated by criminal prosecutors and Congress. Its auditor, Arthur Andersen, was convicted of obstructing justice by shredding vital documents.