The directive came after a lawyer representing one of the alleged fraudsters pushed for progress towards a trial and complained that the man, Gopalakrishnan Vilayur, was suffering "significant detriments" while waiting for the chance to clear his name.

Mr Vilayur is charged alongside Abdul "Alex" El-Debel and Raminder Kahlon with conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth over allegations the trio spent two years manipulating Department of Finance procurement processes for their own financial gain.

Federal police swooped on the Canberra men in a series of raids across the capital in June last year, following 11 months of complex and secretive inquiries sparked by a tip from the government agency.

Mr Vilayur, 50, and Mr El-Debel, 47, have each pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charge and related abuse of public office allegations.

Mr Kahlon, 36, is charged only with the conspiracy offence and is yet to enter a plea.

It is unclear exactly how much the men are accused of swindling, but it is alleged that they used some of their apparently ill-gotten wealth to buy and renovate a number of Canberra homes.

The matters of all three men were most recently mentioned in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday, when federal prosecutor Eleanor Hobba applied for a 12-week adjournment.

She said further charges might still be laid against the trio, and if so that should happen prior to any committal to the ACT Supreme Court for trial.

Defence lawyer Sarah Boxall, acting for Mr Vilayur, opposed the application and said she was concerned there had been "very little progression in this matter" since charges were first laid seven months ago.

She said the case had "lost momentum" and left Mr Vilayur "facing significant detriments" for an unnecessary length of time.

The Canberra Times has previously revealed that the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce has frozen about $7.8 million worth of assets linked to the accused trio, and that the Department of Finance has stood down or terminated each of the men.

Ms Boxall said the partial brief of evidence turned over by prosecutors included enough information for her client to consent to a committal, and he was now eager to stand trial.

Fellow solicitor James Maher, representing Mr El-Debel, said he would also "resist the adjournment", which would be "completely unacceptable" in his view.

Mr Kahlon was not present or legally represented in court on Thursday morning, with his and Mr El-Debel's matters proceeding nearly two hours ahead of schedule.

Magistrate James Lawton ultimately decided to grant the Commonwealth a six-week adjournment, saying that allowing twice that time would be "extremely unfair to the defendants".

He said police should consider whether they were being "reckless" in laying initial charges if there was then a danger that prosecutors could not stick to court timetables because of ongoing investigations.

Mr Lawton directed Ms Hobba to have the police officer leading the fraud probe attend court on the next occasion to explain what progress had been made.

He also ordered police to pay costs incurred by Mr Vilayur as a result of this adjournment, and reserved a decision on orders in relation to Mr El-Debel's costs.

The accused men all remain on strict conditional bail ahead of their next court appearance, which is now scheduled for March 4.