The dying screams of a wealthy banker who tape recorded his own murder were heard by an Old Bailey jury yesterday.

Victim Habib Saliba, 46, who was stabbed 26 times at his home, was murdered by a prostitute and a male friend, the prosecution alleged.

Ms Samantha Enoch, 20, and Mr Ronald Tamplin, 27, both of Moberley Road, Clapham, London, deny murdering Mr Saliba in June last year.

Mr Richard Horwell, prosecuting, told the court: ''Their motives for killing him hardly bear thinking about. The first defendant, Samantha Enoch, killed Saliba for reasons of greed and out of a desire to have him silenced.

''Saliba was in a position to press charges against Enoch for offences which could have sent her to prison.''

He added: ''Tamplin was an old friend of Enoch's and he felt very protective towards her and he, no doubt out of misguided loyalty, assisted his friend in her hour of need.''

Mr Horwell added: ''The events which led up to Saliba's death were unusual in themselves but, in the course of the police investigation, evidence was discovered of a quite exceptional nature.

''It condemns both these defendants and makes quite an exceptional case to be presented to you.''

The jury was told that Syrian Mr Saliba, an assistant vice-president for the Union Bank of Switzerland, had bought a mini tape recorder just days before his death.

Mr Horwell said his intention was no doubt to record conversations between himself and Enoch to ''produce later as evidence in any prosecution for theft against her''.

The prosecution claimed that Enoch, whom Saliba had paid for sex, had taken items of jewellery from his flat in Fulham, west London.

Before the jury listened to the tape through headphones, Mr Horwell told them: ''Mr Saliba opened the door to Enoch and Tamplin and recorded his own murder.

''It is not simply a dramatic piece of evidence, it is an exceptionally distressing piece of evidence and no matter what word of warning is given by myself or anyone else in this case, nothing can prepare you sufficiently for the evidence that was obtained by the police.''

When the tape was played, the defendant Enoch broke down in tears. Mr Horwell told the court that Mr Saliba, a wealthy man, came to England in 1980 and had never married. He first met Enoch in 1994.

''She was then working as a street prostitute outside the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane. During the two and a half years that Saliba and Enoch knew each other, Saliba regularly paid her for sex.

''In addition to this commercial aspect to their relationship, there is no doubt that Saliba was very fond of Enoch and was concerned about her returning to the life of a street prostitute, especially as she had a young son to look after.

''Enoch, however, you may think, regarded Saliba as an easy source of money.''

After the disappearance of jewellery from his home, Saliba made a statement to police in which he made it plain that he wanted Enoch prosecuted for stealing it, said Mr Horwell.

The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.