Natwest Three plead guilty to US fraud

Gary Mulgrew, 43, of Brighton, David Bermingham, 44, and Giles Darby, 45, had been ordered to appear before judge Ewing Werlein Jr at the Southern District of Texas Court for a hearing.

But when they appeared they each pleaded guilty to the fraud offences.

Under the terms of a plea agreement each defendant will serve 37 months in jail after admitting one of the seven counts of wire fraud which they faced.

All three men were extradited from Britain to Houston, Texas, on July 13 last year following a high-profile campaign.

Mulgrew, whose mother is Trish Godman, a member of the Scottish Parliament and formerly its deputy presiding officer, is believed to be a divorced father of two.

Each of the three men was indicted in the US in 2002 on seven counts of wire fraud - illegally gaining money through international banking systems. The charges carried a sentence of up to 35 years in prison.

The NatWest Three had been released on £1.9 million bail but barred from returning home before their trial, which was set for January 7 next year.

The three men were accused of advising their former employer NatWest in 2000 to sell part of a company owned by collapsed US giant Enron for less than it was worth.

They then left the bank and bought a stake in the company, which they sold on at a significantly higher price to make a huge profit.

The trio fought extradition for two years before finally being flown to the US.

American prosecutors issued a criminal complaint against them in June 2002 and in September 2004 a judge ruled they could be extradited to face the charges under a treaty drawn up between Britain and the US in 2003.

Critics, including many MPs, argued the treaty allowed the US to seize British citizens on little evidence, but the Government refused to intervene.

The trio went through a series of appeals in UK courts until they were finally extradited to America on July 13 2006.