Enron chief clarifies to PM

NEW DELHI, AUG. 26. The Enron chief, Mr. Kenneth Lay, today asserted that he had not asked the U.S. Government to consider imposing sanctions against India and said their approach was to settle the issue amicably by selling its stake.

In an interview to The Financial Times, Mr. Lay was reported to have threatened India with new U.S. sanctions unless the company and its partners got back the full $ one billion in costs incurred in building the project.

``I have not asked anyone in the U.S. Government to consider imposing sanctions,'' he said in a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee.

``Further, I did not say that the Dabhol power plant had been expropriated,'' he said adding that he had only factually explained the several possible options, including how one might get to expropriation and about the U.S. laws in place to protect its businesses.

``It is far from suggesting that we have decided to pursue these mechanisms. My discussions appear to have caused significant unintended concern,'' he added.

The approach continued to be resolving the issue amicably by selling the stake to Governmental and financial institutions. Without agreement on that there was little choice but to follow the termination procedures jointly agreed under the Power Purchase Agreement, Mr. Lay said.

- PTI

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