'NatWest Three' lawyers in bid to delay trial

A US court will today consider postponing the trial of the NatWest Three bankers who were extradited from Britain to face fraud charges.

David Bermingham (aged 43), Gary Mulgrew (aged 44), and Giles Darby (aged 43), all had American lawyers when they arrived in Houston, Texas, after they were extradited from Britain on July 13 to face the £11m (€16.1m) Enron-related case.

However, lawyers for Mulgrew and Darby withdrew from the case after initial appearances and a bail proceeding, as had been agreed.

Yesterday, Dan Cogdell, the lawyer for Bermingham and prosecutors suggested holding off on setting a new trial date until Mulgrew and Darby found new lawyers.

US Magistrate Stephen Smith scheduled their trial for September 11, a date which both sides had expected to be postponed anyway.

The magistrate will consider the issue at a hearing today.

The NatWest Three were released on bail of $4m (€3m) but barred from returning home pending their trial.

It is alleged that in 2000 the three men advised their former employer NatWest to sell part of a company owned by collapsed US giant Enron for less than it was worth.

They then left the bank and bought a stake in the company, which they sold on at a significantly higher price to make a huge profit, it is claimed.

The trio, who deny the accusations, fought extradition for two years before finally being flown to the US.

American prosecutors issued arrest warrants for them in 2000, and in October 2004 a judge ruled that they could be extradited to face the charges under a treaty drawn up between Britain and the US in 2003.