WorldCom uncovers further bogus accounting

Bankrupt telecommunications firm WorldCom said it uncovered $3.3bn dollars (€3.4bn) more in bogus accounting, bringing the total amount of misstated earnings to some $7.1bn dollars (€7.3bn).

WorldCom also warned it may find more accounting problems as it continues an internal investigation.

The additional restatement comes amid a string of accounting scandals that has tarnished some of the largest firms in the US, felling once-mighty companies like Enron and Global Crossing.

The fallout from the revelations of corporate malfeasance has severely shaken investor confidence, pummelling stocks and pension funds.

WorldCom, the once high-flying long-distance and Internet services company, filed for bankruptcy protection July 21. It was the biggest such filing in US history.

The new discovery was made as the company reviewed its books for 1999 and 2000, with most of it tallied in 2000, the company said Thursday night.

The fraudulent accounting already revealed occurred in 2001 and the first half of 2002. WorldCom spokesman Brad Burns said the figures have already been reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other investigative authorities.