Does your country have an Enron yet?

First we had good old regular Enron.

Then we had Parmalat, which many began calling the "Enron of Italy."

Now we have Escala Group, Inc., which is now being called the "Enron of Spain." The Escala Group is the third-largest network of companies in the collectibles market, after Christie's and Sotheby's.

Isn't it time the rest of the world caught up and got their own Enron?

UPDATE: Alert readers have reminded us that competing for the title (presumably with Parmalat) for "Europe's Enron" are Royal Ahold (BusinessWeek article here) and Royal Dutch / Shell Transport n/k/a Royal Dutch Shell plc (Wharton article here).

Also, HIH Insurance Limited has been dubbed the "Enron of Australia" by the BBC, and Elan Corporation, plc, has been dubbed the "Enron of Ireland" notes Gibson Dunn & Crutcher's 2004 Annual Report.

Another reader pointed out that The South Sea Company has been called the "Enron of England." While the second article does indeed use that phrase, it is a bit of a stretch to include it on the list, as the company pre-deceased Enron by about 282 years.