Bankrupt US energy giant Enron has agreed to release its tax returns since 1985, and those of its affiliates and partnerships, in a US Senate Finance Committee investigation into whether the company improperly avoided paying taxes.
In a letter to senior committee members, lawyer Mr Fred Goldberg said Enron would co-operate by waiving federal tax privacy protections so that Congress could determine whether laws need to be changed in the aftermath of the energy trading company's downfall.
Separately, The New York Times reported in its online edition yesterday that former Enron chairman Mr Kenneth Lay sold $100 million in Enron stock last year - much of it after he was warned by company executive Mr Sherron Watkins that the company might collapse in scandal.
Mr Lay had previously disclosed selling $29.9 million in shares to the public from January through the end of July. The new disclosures, detailed in report filed by Mr Lay to the Securities and Exchange Commission, showed he took in $70.1 million from selling Enron stock back to the company from February through October.
The company's financial practices are under fire on several fronts.
Senator Max Baucus, the finance committee chairman, said the panel had begun a "thorough and comprehensive probe" into the use of tax shelters or other devices that might have played a role in Enron's demise.
The question, Mr Baucus said in a statement, is "whether Enron may have engaged in aggressive tax planning to improperly avoid paying federal income taxes or exploited loopholes in our tax system requiring attention".
In another congressional inquiry, Sens Joseph Lieberman and Fred Thompson said they were sending letters to four federal agencies and issuing subpoenas to Enron and its former auditor, Arthur Andersen LLP, seeking information on company contacts with the agencies.
AP