In the process of taping, Ramsey also captured the improper transactions.

He asked: "Where were these professionals" when "clearly improper transactions were being consummated?

There are no allegations of improper transactions, as there have been at some ailing savings and loan associations.

Bank of America, she said, played no role in disguising Parmalat's true condition and did not arrange improper transactions.

Two former executives were fined by the commission and, separately, charged by a United States attorney with improper transactions.

Virginia regulators say they have uncovered improper transactions between General Re and Reciprocal dating back to 1990.

Several Wall Street traders estimated that improper transactions allowed some traders to make $3.4 million in questionable profits on a certain class of Farmers' options.

As a cornerstone of her defense, Ms. Dean asserted that all of the improper transactions had been approved by her boss.

But Mr. Schonfeld said that WorldCom and the other companies paid fines in proportion to what they made on the improper transactions.

Mr. Ehrlich said Monday that he had no knowledge of any improper transactions to support the slots initiative, and he said the investigation was unfounded.

But analysts said the disclosure of several improper transactions raised new questions about the AOL division's management and financial controls at the time of the transactions.

About 15 percent of the savings institutions were also involved in fraudulent transactions with other financial institutions involving joint real estate deals, loan swaps and other improper transactions.

On Thursday, the A.I.G. board was advised that an internal review by the company had initially identified about a dozen improper transactions that might have to be reversed.

The judge said Mr. Keating and other executives had executed a series of improper transactions to funnel money from Lincoln to its parent company, the American Continental Corporation.

Depending on the nature of the evidence, such allegations would go far in advancing the government's theory that Enron engaged in improper transactions with off-the-books partnerships to improve its apparent financial results.

Charlie Donaldson, an assistant attorney general who is overseeing the Nynex investigation by Mr. Abrams' office, said late yesterday that he believeed a variety of improper transactions took place.

Mr. Brandon briefed Mr. Buffett a few years ago on some elements of improper transactions involving another major insurer, the American International Group, according to people involved in the investigation.

The commission cited eight improper transactions by the former executives, David A. Thatcher and Timothy J. Ganley, which later forced the company to reduce by half its already reported financial results for two quarters.

"We brought these potentially improper transactions to the attention of the Department of Justice and U.S. A.I.D. and the fund has been fully cooperating in their investigation," Mr. Sommer said.

Although his position gave him the opportunity to make financial arrangements that might have lined the pockets of high-ranking officers at the expense of the military purse, there is little evidence that he engaged in any significant improper transactions.

Directors Criticized Moving broadly beyond the Keating claims, Judge Sporkin also questioned why lawyers and accountants at Lincoln and American Continental had failed to stop or at least disassociate themselves from the improper transactions.

And a Federal Bureau of Investigation accountant assigned to Mr. Starr conceded that no physical evidence could be found to tie the President to improper transactions that are the core of the Whitewater investigation.

A1 U.S. Accuses Accounting Firms The government said KPMG and BDO Seidman flouted tax law by helping hundreds of people and companies escape billions of dollars in taxes through improper transactions.

During the course of his work, Mr. Miller discovered a series of improper transactions involving the joint venture with Harbert, and pieced together that a bid-rigging scheme had been used in Contract 20A, a $107 million sewer project in Cairo.

C6 New Accounting Issues at AOL AOL Time Warner said it had found new improper transactions at its AOL division, and decreased its reported revenue by $190 million over two years ending this summer.