Thread by @nimkef

13 March 2002

Two House committees will commence inquiries into the finances and disclosure of Global Crossing, the telecommunications company whose spectacular dive ended in bankruptcy early this year.

web.archive.org/web/2002032102…

Had it not been for Enron the Global Crossing demise would have garnered more attention already on Capitol Hill and elsewhere. Its share price climbed dizzily until February 2000, when it passed $60, giving the company a market value of $50B. It now trades for about $0.15

As with Enron, political officials are deeply enmeshed in Global Crossing: Terry McAuliffe, now chairman of the DNC and friend of Bill Clinton, turned a $100k investment in the company into $18M.

And Anne Bingaman, chief of the DOJ antitrust division and the wife of Jeff Bingaman, the Democratic Senator from New Mexico, was paid $2.5M to lobby for the company in 1999.

Former President George Bush, took stock in the company in lieu of an $80k speaking fee in 1998. That stock later grew in value to as much as $14M.

FBI and SEC are already investigating the company once run by Gary Winnick and there are private lawyers representing shareholders also delving into the company's records. But the House panels will allow for more public exposure of possible wrongdoing.

Global, soared from nowhere in 1997. It built a 100k mi worldwide network, reported $3.8B in revenue for 2000 and $1.9B in losses. The founder Winnick earned ~$700M on stock sales since the 1998 IPO.

Winnick was based in LA, but the company said it was based in Hamilton, Bermuda

Energy & Commerce Cmte set a deadline for Global Crossing to respond to questions about accounting, its relationship with its auditor, Arthur Andersen--who also certified the books for Enron--and profits made by executives from stock sales. New CEO John Legere promised to comply