Washington: Arthur Andersen, accounting firm of Enron, has been indicted on criminal charges for shredding documents and destroying e-mails connected to the collapsed energy giant, US Justice Department said.

Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson said the indictment on March 14 by a grand jury in Houston, Texas, charges the firm with obstruction of justice by destroying "literally tonnes of documents" during the probe of accounting irregularities by Enron.

This was the first criminal charge filed in the biggest bankruptcy case in the US.

"The indictment catalogues allegations of widespread criminal conduct by the Arthur Andersen firm, charging that the firm sought to undermine our justice system by destroying evidence relevant to the investigations," Thompson said.

"It alleges that at the firm's direction, Andersen personnel engaged in the wholesale destruction of tonnes of paperwork and attempted to purge huge volumes of electronic data or information."

The indictment came after Andersen failed to comply with a deadline on March 14 to plead guilty to charges of obstruction of justice.

For a one-month period in October and early November last year, "Andersen did knowingly, intentionally and corruptly persuade" employees to "alter, destroy, mutilate and conceal" documents, the indictment said.

PTI