The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday filed a subpoena enforcement action in federal appeals court against former Enron Chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay for refusing to turn over suspected corporate documents related to the agency’s ongoing investigation into the fraudulent activities of the one-time energy giant and its executives.

Lay consistently has refused to comply with an SEC subpoena for what the agency believes are corporate documents on the grounds that it would violate his personal rights under the Fifth Amendment. The agency served the subpoena on Lay on Jan. 2, 2002, when he still held the reins at Houston-based Enron. The withheld documents include two files of papers, according to Lay’s attorneys.

“Documents in Lay’s possession that are related to Enron, and generated during his tenure at Enron, are…relevant to matters under investigation, and may provide evidence as to whether he or others violated the federal securities laws,” the SEC said in documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The agency asked the court to order Lay to show cause why he should not be forced to comply with the subpoena, and, if appropriate, order Lay to produce the withheld documents for in-camera review by the court.

“Lay’s Fifth Amendment claim is without merit because, according to a description provided to the SEC by Lay’s counsel, the withheld documents are corporate records of Enron…It is well settled that a corporation has no Fifth Amendment rights and an individual cannot resist the production of corporate records based on the Fifth Amendment, even where the records might tend to incriminate the individual personally,” the SEC told the court.

The SEC and Lay’s attorney engaged in “good faith discussions” to resolve the stalemate, but were unable to reach an agreement, according to the agency. Lay would not turn over the documents “unless the SEC agreed that production of any personal records would not constitute a waiver of any Fifth Amendment rights [he] may have,” which the SEC said it refused to do.

The agency argued that allowing Lay to dictate the conditions under which he would comply with a “lawfully issued subpoena” would compromise its law enforcement objectives.

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