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UK Government Approves Extradition Of Former NatWest Bankers To The US

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

26 May 2005

UK Home Secretary, Charles Clarke on Tuesday gave his approval for three former NatWest employees allegedly linked to the fraudulent accounting practices which brought US energy giant, Enron to its knees to be extradited to the United States.

The three men, David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby, recently sought a judicial review in the High Court over the Serious Fraud Office's decision not to prosecute them in the United Kingdom.

They stand accused of conspiring with Enron's former CFO, Andrew Festow and former global financial chief, Michael Kopper to defraud NatWest's capital markets division by secretly investing in an 'off-balance sheet' Enron partnership.

The bankers, who have denied that their actions constituted a criminal offence, are nevertheless arguing that as they are alleged to have defrauded a UK bank, with the misconduct taking place primarily in the United Kingdom, they should be tried there. The SFO, however, said in February that it had not investigated the case because the US authorities "had a stronger call on the matter".

The men were given 14 days from the date of the Home Secretary's decision to launch an appeal.

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