Group say Neil Coulbeck (latest Enron death) was "hounded by FBI"

[shance]

Hounded By The FBI'
Updated: 19:50, Wednesday July 12, 2006

A banker found dead and believed linked to a US fraud probe involving NatWest (moreover Enron*) was allegedly "hounded by the FBI".

Married father-of-two Neil Coulbeck, 53, had gone missing from his home in Woodford Green, east London, on Thursday.

Civil rights group Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti, after Mr Coulbeck's body was found today, said friends of the dead man claimed America's Federal Bureau of Investigation had "hounded" him.

Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt said: "The man had been interviewed by the FBI. We don't know how important to the investigation he was but FBI sources suggest he was a pivotal character in the case."

Mr Coulbeck's body was discovered in Waltham Forest, east London. He was Head of Group Treasury at the Royal Bank of Scotland and is thought to have been a possible witness in the NatWest Three case.

The discovery comes as MPs debate the controversial decision to extradite three British bankers - dubbed the NatWest Three - to the US to face charges over the scandal.

The men, who previously worked for NatWest, are accused of taking part in a multi-million pound fraud connected to the collapse of Enron.
Mulgrew, Bermingham and Giles face extradition
Mulgrew, Bermingham and Giles face extradition

All three - David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby - have denied any wrongdoing. They could spend up to two years in a high-security US prison awaiting trial unless they are granted bail.

The move to send them to Houston, Texas, is at the centre of a row over Britain's extradition agreement with the United States.

A deal to counter terrorism, agreed after the September 11 attacks in 2001, means the US can easily extradite British people to stand trial in America - even if the case has nothing to do with terrorism.

But because the US Senate has not ratified the deal, Britain does not have a similar right.

The Government insists that the deal makes little or no difference in practice. But Opposition politicians say it is unfair and one-sided.

Before Mr Coulbeck was named publicly, Mr Bermingham said the discovery of his body "put everything that's happened to us in perspective".

He said: "One day when this is all over I'm going to be coming home to my wife and children and some poor guy is not and my heart goes out to his wife and family."

He added: "(Mr Coulbeck) was a superstar, a thoroughly decent, honest professional guy and a very experienced banker."

The RBS, which owns NatWest, said there was "no evidence" that Mr Coulbeck had been involved in the transaction under investigation".

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1227489,00.html

[Double T]

1. In bushco world, your guilty and sentenced long before a trial.......

(if you are lucky) begins. I love to see american democracy in action.

[shance]

2. Sure does seem that way, doesn't it?

n/t