Bernie Ebbers continued to deny allegations yesterday that he was behind the $11bn (£5.8bn) WorldCom accounting scandal that led to the financial collapse of the US telecoms giant.

The former boss of WorldCom challenged testimony given already by star prosecution witness Scott Sullivan denying that he put pressure on the former WorldCom CFO to cook the books.

Sullivan, who has already pleaded guilty to his part in the WorldCom fraud, has already told the court that Ebbers was part of the fraud.

"I falsified financial statements of the company, made adjustments to revenue for the purpose of meeting analyst expectations," Sullivan told the court during his time in the witness stand.

Asked who else took part he replied: "Bernie [Ebbers], David Myers, Buddy Yates, Betty Vinson, Troy Normand."

But Ebbers denied this. He told the court that Sullivan "made accounting decisions" and that he was unaware of any financial irregularity. ®

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