A U.S. Senate panel has canceled its hearing Monday on the collapse of the energy trading giant Enron, after the company's former chairman abruptly announced that he will not testify.

Kenneth Lay

A lawyer for Enron ex-chairman Kenneth Lay says his client changed his mind about participating because remarks by lawmakers on Sunday indicated the hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee would be biased.

Two lawmakers said in television interviews Sunday that an internal Enron report reveals corrupt business practices and possible criminal wrongdoing at the center of the corporation's spectacular bankruptcy in December.

U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin said the document shows that top Enron executives invested in or created partnerships that facilitated accounting abuses, so they could rake in millions of dollars in profits, while the company took a loss.

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan, who was set to preside at Monday's hearing, said the report describes a "culture of corruption" and suggested that someone needs to be punished for Enron's collapse.

Mr. Lay has been publicly silent about allegations surrounding Enron, but his lawyers say their client denies engaging in wrongful conduct. Enron's sudden collapse cost millions in lost investments and many Enron employees their entire retirement savings.

The internal Enron report also says accounting firm Arthur Anderson advised Enron managers on how to set-up the ill-fated partnerships. The accounting firm announced Sunday it is hiring former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to head an oversight board to make fundamental changes in Anderson's audit practices.

Some information for this report provided by AFP, Reuters and AP.

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