Three former NatWest bankers charged with Enron-related fraud will be extradited to the US on Thursday, their solicitor said today.
David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby will board a plane to the US at Gatwick Airport at 9.30am to face trial over the alleged £11m fraud.
The extradition of the so-called 'NatWest Three' has attracted wide-spread criticism as it was sanctioned under a controversial fast-track procedure agreed by British authorities with the US.
The treaty with Washington means Britons can be extradited to the US without evidence first being produced that they have a case to answer. It has been bitterly attacked by opposition politicians because the US Congress has yet to ratify the treaty, which means there is no reciprocal arrangement for the extradition of US nationals to the UK.
The three men want to be tried in England because it is where they live and where the alleged offences took place. They face custody when they get to the US unless they can raise a $1m bail bond. The three men could be held in a US jail for two years awaiting trial.
