Former Enron CEO Skilling released from federal custody after 12 years

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling has been released from a federal custody after spending 12 years in prison for his role in masterminding one of most notorious corporate frauds in history, the Bureau of Prisons has said.

Skilling, 65, was released on Thursday after serving 12 years in prison and six months in a halfway house after being convicted for his actions that led to one of the worst corporate meltdowns in history.

He was convicted of 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors in connection with the collapse of the Houston-based energy giant.

The company collapsed into bankruptcy in 2001 under the weight of years of illicit business deals and accounting tricks.

Skilling was sentenced to 24 years in prison, but was able to walk free sooner due to a reduced sentence.

In August, Skilling was released to a halfway house at an undisclosed location from a minimum security federal prison camp in Alabama.

Skilling was the highest-ranking executive to be punished for Enron's downfall. Enron founder Kenneth Lay's similar convictions were vacated after he died of a heart disease less than two months after trial.

Enron's collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than USD 2 billion in employee pensions and rendered worthless USD 60 billion in Enron stock.