[JURIST] A US magistrate in Houston agreed Tuesday to delay the trial of three former British bankers facing fraud charges related to the Enron scandal [JURIST news archive] so that two of the defendants can hire American lawyers. A trial had been scheduled for Sept. 11, but Magistrate Stephen Smith granted the defendants' request [JURIST report] and ordered the men to update the court on their progress - Giles Darby on Friday and Gary Mulgrew on next Tuesday. The third defendant, David Bermingham, has already hired Dan Cogdell [profile], a criminal defense attorney from Houston.

The defendants, known as the Natwest three, were extradited to the US [JURIST report] to face seven counts of wire fraud [indictment, PDF] each for allegedly entering into a secret agreement with former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow to illegally receive money. While on bail awaiting trial, the defendants must remain in the Southern District of Texas and wear electronic monitoring devices. The Houston Chronicle has more.