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September 29, 2004 UK Bankers Would Not Get Fair U.S. Trial By Jane Merriman LONDON (Reuters) - Three British former bankers fighting extradition to the United States over charges of an alleged fraud involving Enron executives, would not get a fair trial there, a London court heard on Wednesday. Douglas McNabb, a U.S. Federal criminal defense lawyer, told the court that huge publicity over the collapse of Enron, the energy trading group, would make it difficult for any jury in Houston, Texas, where Enron was based, to be impartial. "I don't think they will receive a fair trial because of the strong presumption in the jury's mind that the defendants committed the crime," said McNabb, appearing as an expert witness in the case being heard at Bow Street magistrates court in central London. The three British men, Gary Mulgrew, Giles Darby and David Bermingham, are alleged to have conspired with Enron executives, including former finance chief Andrew Fastow, over the sale of a stake in an Enron entity in 2000. U.S. prosecutors have accused the British bankers of seven counts of "wire fraud" through the U.S. banking system. They are each alleged to have made 1.5 million pounds ($2.7 million) after selling an interest held by Greenwich NatWest, a unit of UK bank NatWest, in an Enron entity at a cheap price, pocketing the difference. The three deny the charges. McNabb said if extradited to Houston, the three would not get bail, but would be held in a high security detention center near the Houston Federal court. They would have to pay their own legal costs for their trial, which he estimated could run to between $1 and $2 million. If found guilty they could face jail sentences of up to 35 years. McNabb, questioned by defense counsel Alun Jones, said it was "disturbing" that the U.S. authorities had chosen to use a criminal complaint procedure against the three and to publicize it widely. He said it was surprising the U.S. government had taken this route instead of using the federal grand jury system, where evidence is presented to a jury to decide if there is any case to answer. The extradition order comes under new UK legislation, in force since January this year, designed to speed up the extradition of suspected terrorists. The hearing continues on Thursday. | |