Banker Giles Darby and his wife DeborahWILTSHIRE TIMES EXCLUSIVE: A FATHER-OF-FIVE from a village near Box 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.

In an exclusive interview with the Chippenham News, 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 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.

"On Friday for the first time I was really scared. Just devastated really. I never thought they would actually end up in America but now there's a very real prospect. I always thought somebody would realise how ridiculous it is," she said.

Darby has five daughters 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.

His troubles began when, while working for Green-wich Natwest in 1995, he made £900,000 out of a deal with the Enron pair.

Darby said he became suspicious of the deal after Enron's financial problems were unmasked in 2001.

He now plans to appeal. 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.