OREGON STATE ANNOUNCES ENRON INVESTIGATION

For immediate release

April 10, 2002

Attorney General Hardy Myers and State Treasurer Randall Edwards today announced that the Department of Justice, assisted by the State Treasury, the Oregon Investment Council (OIC), and the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), has opened a new investigation to determine whether conduct leading up to the collapse of Enron Corp. included violation of Oregon laws.

“Oregon is uniquely affected by Enron’s collapse,” Myers said. “We will use available resources as effectively as we can to determine whether Oregon’s racketeering or state securities laws have been violated, and if so, by whom.”  Myers noted that:  Enron Corp is an Oregon corporation.  Portland General Electric (PGE), one of Oregon’s two largest privately-owned utilities, is owned by Enron and is one of Enron’s most valuable assets in the bankruptcy proceeding filed by Enron.  Oregon is the home of thousands of PGE employees and retirees who are Enron shareholders and who have suffered significant losses because of the collapse of Enron Corp.’s stock value.

 Oregon’s Public Employee Retirement Fund has lost approximately $80 million because of the collapse of Enron Corp.’s stock value.  Oregon is a creditor in the Enron Corp. bankruptcy proceeding.

The Department of Justice will join forces with DCBS and the Treasury to maximize investigative resources with the goals of recovering some of Oregon’s losses and preventing unlawful activity in the future. The OIC, which is the investment board to the $36 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, today authorized the Treasury to expend up to $200,000 to help cover the costs of the investigation.

“As Treasurer and a custodian of the Oregon Public Employee Retirement Fund, I am committed to exploring every reasonable avenue to remedy the damage done to the fund by Enron and its associates,” Edwards said.  “We have an opportunity through this investigation to potentially achieve that goal.”

DCBS provides consumers with information about securities offerings and registers and regulates securities brokers and dealers.  “Protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive sales of securities is part of our job,” DCBS Director Mary Neidig said. “The harm done to Oregon investors in the Enron collapse makes it essential for us to contribute staff resources and securities expertise to this effort, both to help determine if the collapse stemmed from fraudulent practices and also to study what we might do to prevent such debacles in the future.”

The investigation is expected to conclude in three to four months, Myers said.  He expects to make recommendations at that time regarding initiation of lawsuits or other enforcement actions.  Individuals with information that may be helpful to the Justice investigation should contact the Department of Justice’s toll-free Consumer Protection Hotline, (877) 877-9392.

Overviews of the pertinent statutes and the current state involvement with the Enron Corp. are attached to the release and available on the Department of Justice website at www.doj.state.or.us.

 Consumer Protection Hotline: (877) 877-9392

(503) 229-5120 (Portland)

(503) 378-4230 (Salem)