Bankers start fight against extradition

THREE British bankers appeared in court today accused of a multimillion pound fraud involving disgraced US energy company Enron.

Dressed in smart dark suits, the trio of former investment specialists for investment bank Greenwich NatWest appeared at Bow Street Magistrates Court, for a scheduled three-day hearing at which they will fight extradition to the US.

They stand accused of conspiring with senior Enron executives to defraud the British bank, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland.

Former Enron chief executive Andrew Fastow has already admitted his involvement in the deal as part of a plea bargain.

US authorities claim the men persuaded NatWest to sell a stake in a Cayman Islands company for $1m (£553,000) when the true value was much higher.

Within a month, the stake had been sold on and it is alleged Gary Mulgrew, Giles Darby and David Bermingham, all aged 42, each made £1.5m profit, with senior Enron officials pocketing more than £7.6m.

Bermingham will give evidence today, arguing he and his former colleagues should be tried in the UK where the alleged crime took place.

Alun Jones, QC, representing the men, told the court he will also be calling evidence from a practising attorney from the federal courts in Texas. If they fail in their fight, the three will be flown to Houston to stand trial there.

Enron, once the seventh-largest US firm, imploded in December 2001 amid a huge accounting scandal.

Today's hearing is the first time the new Extradition Act, brought in by Home Secretary David Blunkett to trap suspected terrorists, will be tested in the British courts.

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza faces an extradition hearing under the same legislation next month.

The hearing continues.