Dad faces 35 years in US jail

Father-of-five Giles Darby, 42, from South Wraxall, near Bradford on Avon, has spoken exclusively to the Wiltshire Times about the extradition debate, which could see him sent to Texas to stand trial.

The former Greenwich NatWest banker is accused of playing a part in a multi-million pound fraud.

A FATHER-OF-FIVE from a village near Bradford on Avon who is facing extradition to the US and up to 35 years in jail on fraud charges has spoken for the first time about his ordeal.

Banker Giles Darby, 42, of South Wraxall, is accused, along with two ex-colleagues, of a multi-million pound fraud involving employees from collapsed US energy giant Enron.

On Friday, using new extradition laws brought in to deal with terrorists, a London court ruled that Darby and two other British men should be tried in a Texas court on wire fraud charges.

In an exclusive interview with the Wiltshire Times Darby and his wife Deborah, 39, spoke of their anxiety and fears for the future.

Darby and his co-defendants Gary Mulgrew, 42, the son of Scottish MSP Trish Godman, and David Bermingham, 42, of Oxfordshire, have been fighting extradition on the grounds they would not receive a fair trial in the US. If cleared they could still face a £1m legal bill.

Darby said: "We are alleged to have defrauded one of the largest financial institutions in this country. We are British. We were living and working in this country when it happened. This is a British case. But to this date no-one has seen fit to press charges here in this country."

The three men, who all worked at Greenwich NatWest, deny hatching a plot with ex-Enron finance chief Andrew Fastow and one-time lieutenant Michael Kopper to persuade the bank to sell its stake in a Cayman Island investment firm for a knock-down price.

Most of the cash allegedly went to Fastow and Kopper, but the three British bankers are accused of benefiting.

Darby said because he is fighting extradition he would be classed as a fugitive and would be unlikely to be given bail, which could mean two years in a US jail waiting for trial.

Mrs Darby said she had no idea how she would cope if her husband was extradited.

"It's been a very, very stressful few years trying to keep things normal in front of the family. It's always in the background.

"On Friday for the first time I was really scared. I was just devastated really. I never thought that they would actually end up in America but now I think there's a very real prospect. I always thought somebody at some point would realise how ridiculous it is," she said. Darby has five daughters, including identical twins, ranging from the ages of six to 17. He grew up in Seend, went to The George Ward School in Melksham, and started working for NatWest in Trowbridge when he was 18.

He has family in Trowbridge, Chippenham and Bradford on Avon. His troubles began when, while working for Greenwich Natwest in 1995, he made £900,000 out of a deal with the Enron pair.

Darby, who is accused of defrauding his former employers, said he became suspicious of the deal after Enron's financial problems were unmasked in 2001 and told the Financial Services Authority he thought he might have been involved in a fraudulent transaction.

Darby heard nothing more until he switched on breakfast television eight months later, in June 2002, and discovered he stood accused of fraud.

He now plans to appeal the decision to take him to trail in the High Court. Before that the case will be referred to Home Secretary David Blunkett, who Darby fears is unlikely to block the ruling because of the new extradition laws.

Enron energy scandal

THE news of the black hole in US energy giant Enron's accounts first came to light three years ago.

In December 2001 the company admitted inflating profits and filed for bankruptcy.

It emerged Enron had used a complex web of transactions to hide massive debts and in 2002 a criminal inquiry was launched. In January ex-finance chief Fastow accepted a 10-year jail term for his role.