Andersen Worldwide Settlement Approved

Arthur Andersen’s foreign accounting affiliates have won a judge’s approval for a $40-million settlement of lawsuits stemming from the collapse of Enron Corp., according to court papers.

U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon in Houston this week approved Andersen Worldwide Societe Cooperative’s settlement, the first such resolution of an Enron-related suit. The accord doesn’t cover Arthur Andersen, Enron’s auditor for more than a decade.

Andersen Worldwide officials agreed to the settlement last year to erase liability in suits filed by Enron investors and workers over the accounting firm’s role in helping Enron hide more than $1 billion in losses.

The settlement is a fraction of the $29 billion that shareholders and former workers say they lost in Enron’s meltdown.