The company's stock is to be delisted on the Nasdaq on Friday. And Harvey Pitt, the chairman of the SEC, has derided as "wholly inadequate and incomplete" a sworn statement in which the company explained how it had masked the $4 billion.
The statement, which the commission had demanded from the company, "demonstrates a lack of commitment to full disclosure to investors and less than full co-operation with the SEC," Pitt said.
Whatever the impact on the firm itself, the WorldCom debacle had robbed thousands if not millions of investors of retirement funds, and changed the political landscape in Congress.
Bush has repeatedly expressed outrage at the firm's behaviour in recent days. And Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has announced that legislation to crack down on corporate irresponsibility will be the first order of business when lawmakers return to the Capitol next week.
"We completely agree with the president on this and I am committed to operating WorldCom with the highest possible standards of ethics and integrity," Sidgmore said.
Despite Pitts' criticism, WorldCom defended its report as an accurate accounting of what happened.
"We were very surprised by (Pitt's) comments," company spokesman Brad Burns said Tuesday. "Based on the SEC order and conversations with SEC staff, we believe they were clear on what we would be able to provide at this time. Our response was entirely in line and is, in fact, a summary of what we know at this point."
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he doesn't believe WorldCom's shaky financial situation poses a risk for the Pentagon, which uses some of the company's communications systems.
"I think it's not to be a problem," he said in response to a reporter's question.
The General Services Administration, which oversees federal contracts, said Monday that it was reviewing all of WorldCom's government contracts.
In the latest development as WorldCom's travails grew, the state comptroller in New York asked a federal court Tuesday to allow him to lead a shareholder lawsuit against the company, some of its executives and its former auditor, Arthur Andersen LLP.
The state's pension fund has lost some $300 million US on its investment in WorldCom stock -- the biggest loss in the history of the $112-billion fund.
"We must hold corporate officials who commit fraud accountable," said the comptroller, Carl McCall.
Investors pummelled WorldCom stock, which plunged 90 per cent to six cents a share in Monday's early trading after a three-day halt that followed its disclosure of accounting irregularities.
By noon Monday, WorldCom -- which once topped $64 a share -- had become the most heavily traded stock in a single day in U.S. history as the markets tumbled again.
During the day, 1.47 billion shares of WorldCom traded, at prices as high as 15 cents and as low as 51/2 cents. Sales were in the six-cent range Tuesday.
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