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US Justice Dept opens criminal probe of Enron

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of fallen energy giant Enron Corp, department officials said on Wednesday.

Officials would not say when exactly the investigation began but said it would be centered within the department's criminal division and that a task force was being established to handle the case.

Once the world's largest energy trading firm, the company went in a few short weeks from Wall Street star to making the largest bankruptcy filing in US history on December 2.

Its downfall threw thousands out of work and destroyed billions of dollars in investor equity, even as top Enron executives allegedly raked in fat profits by selling shares ahead of a dizzying drop in the company's stock price.

Enron is also the subject of congressional investigations, and probes by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Labor Department.

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The Enron Saga