Federal prosecutors are passing on their last chance to reinvigorate a criminal tax-shelter proceeding, once billed as the largest in history, after a string of setbacks.

Accountants said they were unable to conclude if the $50 billion privatization of Bell Canada would leave the company solvent.

Accountants said they were unable to conclude if the $50 billion privatization of Bell Canada would leave the company solvent.

The Justice Department announced that it was backing away from the practice of pressing companies to share secrets with prosecutors and not pay the legal fees of employees accused of crimes.

A federal appeals court has upheld the validity of the national board overseeing the auditing industry, rejecting a challenge by a conservative activist group.

A defendant in the large tax-shelter case involving former executives of the KPMG accounting firm will be tried separately on charges of personal tax evasion.