Three British bankers accused in the US of taking part in a multi-million pound fraud involving officials from bankrupt energy giant Enron lost the first round in their battle against extradition today.
Mr Gary Mulgrew, Mr Giles Darby and Mr David Bermingham, all 42, were remanded on conditional bail to await British Home Secretary Mr David Blunkett's decision on whether to grant the US government's extradition request.
District Judge Mr Nicolas Evans, sitting at London's Bow Street Magistrates' Court, told the men, all former bosses at investment bankers Greenwich NatWest: "I am now sending this case to the Secretary of State for his decision as to whether or not you should be extradited.
"In doing that I should tell you you have a right of appeal to the High Court. I expect that will happen.
"If you exercise that right of appeal, that appeal will not be heard until the Secretary of State has made his decision. "If you decide you should not go then that is the end of the matter."
Sureties of £25,000 were stood for each of the men.
The US Department of Justice has charged them with seven counts of wire fraud.
They are accused of conspiring with Enron bosses to sell a stake in a Cayman Islands firm for £581,000 - when it was worth much more. It was resold and each allegedly made £1.5 million.
All the men deny the charges.