1.   Congressional opponents of the measure said that it would allow company officials to defraud shareholders, many of whom are retirees, leaving them with little recourse.

2.   In April, it unanimously approved a bill to create a crime for any actions taken to defraud shareholders in publicly traded companies.

3.   In April, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill to create a new crime for any actions taken to defraud shareholders in publicly traded companies.

4.   Instead, authorities will have to determine the company was clearly defrauding its shareholders, Valera said.

5.   Since then, Whitacre has confessed to prosecutors that he committed crimes in the financial transactions, including tax evasion and defrauding shareholders.

6.   He has been accused in Belgium of defrauding small shareholders.