WorldCom is planning to file for bankruptcy protection, according to its chief executive.

WorldCom Inc bank lenders have failed in their efforts to recover the $2.65bn (€2.67bn) they were owed by the company after a New York judge rejected their request to impose a temporary restraining order against WorldCom, the Financial Times reported in its online edition, citing sources.

WorldCom's former chairman has refused to answer questions from a congressional panel investigating accounting irregularities at the company.

INVOKING his Fifth Amendment right, WorldCom's former chairman refused to answer questions yesterday from a congressional panel investigating nearly $4 billion in accounting irregularities at the telecommunications giant.

US regulators have given WorldCom until Monday to provide details of how £2.5 billion of expenses were hidden from shareholders.

US regulators have given WorldCom until Monday to provide details of how €3.8bn of expenses were hidden from shareholders.

Three WorldCom bosses have been ordered to testify at a Congressional hearing to investigate how the telecom giant inflated its profits by €3.8bn.

With his company accused of a massive £2.5bn (€3.85bn) fraud and facing bankruptcy, WorldCom chief executive John Sidgmore has vowed to continue cutting costs.

An investigation by US telecommunications giant WorldCom’s board of directors uncovered nearly $3.8bn (€3.83bn) in improperly booked expenses, the company said, revealing what appears to be among the largest cases ever of accounting fraud.