Nortel Trial Begins

More than three-and-a-half years after being charged with fraud, three former senior Nortel Networks Ltd. executives finally took the stand in Toronto on Monday and pleaded not guilty.

Following a four-year investigation, former CEO Frank Dunn, former CFO Douglas Beatty and former Controller Michael Gollogly were formally charged in June 2008 on seven counts each.

For more details of the allegations see the Light Reading story we ran in June 2008 -- Ex-Nortel Execs Charged With Fraud.

In January 2009, six months after the three men were charged, Nortel filed for bankruptcy protection and began the sale of its assets. (See Nortel Files for Bankruptcy Protection, The Decline & Fall of Nortel Networks and Nortel: It's All Up for Sale.)

That process is still limping along today, as the US$4.5 billion sale of Nortel's patents is still under review by the U.S. Department of Justice . (See Nortel Patent Sale Under Scrutiny .)

And Nortel still exists, though only as a company that is still in the process of winding down its operations and sorting out its bankruptcy terms. (See Nortel Gets Stay, CFO Steps Down and Nortel Posts $792M Cash Balance in Q3.)

For details of Monday's proceedings, check out this Globe and Mail report.

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading