Former National Westminster Bank Greenwich employees Gary Mulgrew, Giles Darby and David Bermingham were accused by the US authorities after allegedly taking $7.3m from an off-balance sheet partnership between their bank and Enron.

Press reports say the charges are in connection with Campsie Limited, a fund affiliated with NatWest. LJM Cayman, one of the off-balance sheet partnerships devised by former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, contributed £10.2m to the fund.

According to the Justice Department, between 1999 and 2000, the men allegedly recommended an interest held by NatWest in Campsie be sold for $1m when it was more valuable than that. The men purchased a portion of the interest themselves for $250,000, selling it weeks later for a personal profit of $7.3m.

NatWest Greenwich was later acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland. A spokesman from RBS said the bank would 'monitor criminal proceedings carefully' and would 'continue to co-operate with the with the appropriate authorities involved in the Enron investigation.'