The man in charge of accounting at WorldCom, the telecoms company at the centre of an alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud, has pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy.

Buford Yates, 46, is the second senior official at the company to admit to criminal charges and agree to help investigators prosecute his former bosses.

During a plea hearing Mr Yates said that while he was director of general accounting at WorldCom he and other colleagues were "directed by my supervisors to make certain adjustments to WorldCom's reported financial statements, the effect of which was to reduce WorldCom's reported expenses and increase (its) reported net revenues".

His direct superior, former controller David Myers, pleaded guilty on 26 September to similar charges, also pointing the finger at executives higher up the corporate ladder.

'Orders from the top'

According to prosecutors, Yates and Myers had both helped hide nearly $8bn in expenses from October 2000 till the following August.

Both men are now saying that they became concerned about the possible illegality of what they were doing.

"He strenuously objected to making these adjustments," said Yates' lawyer, David Schertler, after the hearing in New York, "and when he raised these objections he was told they were approved at the highest levels of WorldCom management."

Mr Yates could face 10 years in prison and a $1m fine on the conspiracy charge. The fraud charge carries a lesser penalty.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil suit against Yates aiming to recover any ill-gotten gains, level fines, and ban him from being a director of a public company.

The twin guilty pleas now place the spotlight on former WorldCom chief financial officer Scott Sullivan, also facing fraud and conspiracy charges.

Sullivan, though, continues to maintain that he is not guilty.