The former general counsel of Tyco – Mark Belnick – has been cleared of all charges in the dramatic resolution to his fraud trial, which raised fresh questions over the ability of prosecutors to pursue governance scandals.

The verdict, delivered on 15 July in the New York State Supreme Court, saw Belnick found not guilty of charges of fraud, falsifying records and grand larceny and brings to an end the most high-profile US prosecution yet against an in-house lawyer.