Bankers face extradition in cuffs, shackles and Guantanamo boilersuits; Enron scandal Scot faces 22 years' jail.

Byline: By Richard Elias

THE son of a prominent Scots politician will be extradited to the US tomorrow morning, where he faces a possible 22-year jail term.

When the plane lands in Houston, Texas, Gary Mulgrew will be handcuffed, shackled and clad in an orange, Guan- tanamo Bay-style boilersuit.

He then faces the possibility B of two years' detention before being given the chance to clear I his name.

But if things turn out for the worst, Mulgrew will spend the next two decades in a maxi- mum-securityprison.

He and two colleagues, David Bermingham and Giles Darby, are accused of defrauding their former employers, the NatWest bank, of pounds 6.5million.

The trio were charged after the collapse of US energy company Enron.

Mulgrew, whose mother, Tricia Godman, is deputy presiding officer of the Scottish parliament, was managing director of NatWest's US banking subsidiary, GNW.

He is originally from Pollok, Glasgow, and grew up in a council house on Dormanside Road.

After taking a marketing degree at Strathclyde University, he worked for Tom Hunter, one of Scotland's richest men, before entering banking.

In 1998, Mulgrew was appointed managing director of GNW.

At the time, they were struggling to break even. But, within months of his arrival, the firm were booming.

The 44-year-old and his two co-accused enjoyed a fabulous lifestyle, regularly flying around the world in a private jet, holidaying in exotic places and driving fast cars while earning pounds 1million-plus each year.

But their world fell apart when American prosecutors investigating the demise of Enron demanded the trio's extradition.

It is alleged that Mulgrew and his pals conspired with the bank's former chief financier, Andy Fastow, over a crooked deal to sell shares in a company owned by GNW.

Since being charged in June 2002, the trio have been fighting attempts to send them to the US to stand trial.

They claim that they co-operated fully with the British authorities, who, after conducting their own inquiry, decided they did not have a case to answer.

Also, their lawyers claim that using the 2003 Extradition Act, which allows UK citizens to be sent to the US without the prosecution having to present hard evidence, is wrong.

But the US authorities' determination to prosecute the trio has never relented.

They claim they have the right to bring the men to court in America because the deal to sell GNW's stake in Swap Sub involved emails sent by them to Fastow's office in Houston, Texas.

When they arrive in Houston, where Enron had their base, the men will be taken to the city's Federal Detention Centre.

From there, they will be brought before a judge to hear the case against them.

RECORD VIEW: Page 6

CAPTION(S):

PHOTONEWS LONG BATTLE: Gary Mulgrew, main image, and Giles Darby and David Bermingham could spend years trying to clear their names