Former Enron CEO Skilling sentenced to 24 years

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, the most vilified figure from the most notorious financial scandal of the decade, was sentenced tonight to 24 years, four months in prison, the harshest sentence yet in the case that came to symbolise corporate fraud in America.

He was the last top former official to be punished for the accounting tricks and shady business deals that led to the loss of thousands of jobs, more than $60bn in Enron stock and more than 2 billion dollars in employee pension plans when Enron collapsed.