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30 September, 2004 Enron extradition case set to conclude LONDON (Reuters) - A court hearing involving three British former bankers fighting extradition to the United States over charges of an alleged fraud involving Enron executives is due to finish later today. But a decision on the case, being heard at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in central London, is not expected for at least another week. The three Britons, 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 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. On Wednesday, Douglas McNabb, a U.S. Federal criminal defence lawyer, appearing as an expert witness, told the court the three would not get a fair trial if extradited to Houston, Texas, because of widespread public outrage over the collapse of Enron, the energy trading group, which was based in Houston. The three would also have to pay their own legal costs for a trial in the United States, which McNabb estimated could run to between $1 and $2 million. If found guilty they could face jail sentences of up to 35 years. The extradition order comes under new UK legislation, in force since January this year, designed to speed up the extradition of suspected terrorists. | |