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Two former WorldCom executives arrested

Two former top executives of bankrupt telecommunications firm WorldCom Inc were arrested on Thursday for their role in the $3.85 billion accounting scandal that has rocked confidence in corporate America, an FBI spokesman said.

Former WorldCom chief financial officer Scott Sullivan and former controller David Myers were being held at the officesof the Federal Bureau of Investigation in lower Manhattan.

They were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and five counts of filing false statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

WorldCom, US' No. 2 long distance carrier, was not charged in the criminal complaint filed by the prosecutors in Manhattan federal court. The SEC previously filed a civil fraud suit against the company.

WorldCom, which has been charged with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, filed for the world's largest bankruptcy in July as it buckled under $40 billion in debt and the billion accounting scandal. The company fired Sullivan, who it alleged orchestrated the accounting debacle.

CEO Bernie Ebbers resigned under pressure in April.

The scandal at WorldCom, coming after the collapse of energy trader Enron Corp, fanned a political firestorm that led to new legislation signed by President George W Bush on Tuesday that quadruples penalties for accounting fraud.

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