Jeffrey Skilling, the former Enron chief executive, has surrendered to the FBI following reports that he had been indicted for his part in the collapse of the former energy giant.

Mr Skilling, who resigned from Enron less that four months before the company failed, entered the FBI's Houston headquarters accompanied by a team of lawyers at 6:52am local time.

The surrender follows reports that he had been indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury. Mr Skilling is expected to appear in court later today.

Mr Skilling would be the most high profile Enron executive yet to face criminal charges over the demise of the power trading company, which filed for bankruptcy in December 2001 in one of America's most notorious corporate collapses.

Andrew Fastow, the company's former chief financial officer, last month pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud in exchange for a 10-year prison sentence. The company has been found to have hidden billions of dollars in debts and inflated profits to boost its share price.

Mr Skilling held senior positions at Enron since 1997, when he was made president and chief operating officer. He was promoted in February 2001 to chief executive before resigning six months later, citing personal reasons.

Mr Skilling was one of the few former Enron executives not to invoke a constitutional right to silence when appearing before Congress two years ago. He told two congressional panels he knew nothing about Enron's difficulties when he resigned.

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