Topeka ? A federal judge has told Westar Energy Inc. that it can make payments to David Wittig and another former company executive, but the judge has not given the two men permission to spend what they might receive.

Wittig and Douglas T. Lake had asked U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson to rescind an order she issued in April, preventing Westar from releasing money for living expenses and for their defenses in a criminal case. The two men face 40 charges, with prosecutors accusing them of trying to loot Westar, the state’s largest utility, during their tenure.

Robinson issued an order Wednesday modifying her previous one by allowing Westar to pay Wittig and Lake, but requiring the men to keep any payments they receive in escrow.

Wittig, of Topeka, was formerly Westar’s chief executive officer, and Lake, of New Canaan, Conn., is a former executive vice president for the electric utility. Both left Westar late in 2002 and have been in arbitration over how much the company owes them.

Robinson’s order in April restricted the two men’s activities to preserve assets that prosecutors hope to seize in the criminal case. Prosecutors are seeking to recover $25.5 million from Wittig and $7.5 million from Lake.

Wittig and Lake’s attorneys argued that they could not afford to pay legal fees and living expenses. Attorneys for the two men did not return telephone messages left Thursday.

Robinson’s latest order kept most conditions from her April order in effect.

However, she wrote, she did not intend to end Westar’s obligation to make payments to Wittig and Lake, based on any findings in arbitration. Instead, Robinson said, her intent was “to preserve the status quo and the assets for potential forfeiture.”

The judge rejected arguments that the two men need access to the assets covered by her April order, or payments from Westar.