David Anders for the prosecution alleged that Ebbers was a liar. 'When people buy stock in a company they purchase he right to be told the truth. Bernard Ebbers violated that trust. He violated that trust by directing this fraud and then telling lie after lie after lie about how his company, WorldCom was performing.'

In one of the most eagerly anticipated corporate fraud trials in the US, Ebbers faces 85 years in prison if found guilty on charges of fraud, conspiracy and making false regulatory filings between September 2000 and June 2002.

WorldCom's $11bn collapse in 2002 is the biggest bankruptcy in US history.