Enron trio face US extradition bid

THREE British bankers charged in relation to the Enron affair are set to face extradition proceedings after being indicted by US federal prosecutors.

Gary Mulgrew, David Bermingham and Giles Darby had already been charged with siphoning off £4.8m from their former employer Greenwich NatWest as part of a deal involving Enron. The indictment is said to be a mirror image of these charges. However, the move enables US prosecutors to begin legal efforts to extradite the men, believed still to be in England.

Any extradition could prove crucial to the case being compiled against Enron's former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, allegedly involved in the deals which enabled the trio to siphon the funds.

Fastow has already been the target of a deal struck between prosecutors and former Enron executive Michael Kopper, who last month pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and fraud. Kopper's cooperation with the prosecutors led to Fastow being named in connection with three fraudulent deals.

The indictment is believed to be similar to allegations in a lawsuit filed in June by Dutch financier Rabobank against Royal Bank of Canada over an Enron deal. The trio left NatWest to join the Canadian firm two years ago.