It was an image that must have struck fear into the hearts of company directors across the globe: Scott Sullivan, former chief financial officer of the telecoms giant WorldCom, being dragged from his offices in handcuffs to face federal charges of securities fraud. WorldCom had crashed and burned in spectacular style two months earlier, after executives admitted they had inflated profits by $7bn (£4.5bn) during 14 months.
The scandal was just the latest in a string of corporate collapses that rocked the global business community, including those of Enron, Adelphia, Xerox and Global Crossing.
