Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal
High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered
that a Nigerian-based Italian businessman,
Piero Allan Franchillo, be remanded in
prison custody for allegedly defrauding
Zenith Bank Plc of the sum of N717 million.
The Italian was arraigned before the court
on a five-count charge of advanced fee
fraud, forgery and altering of documents
by lawyers from the Special Fraud Unit of
the Nigerian Police.
The accused person, however, pleaded not
guilty to all the counts, a development
that made the court to order that he be
kept in custody pending the hearing and
determination of his bail application on
February 7.
Before the case was adjourned, the
prosecutor, Mrs Susan Ezema had informed
the court that the foreigner conspired
with others who are still at large, to obtain
about N717 million from Zenith Bank, for
the construction of a Mall at Effurun,
Delta State.
Ezema also alleged that the accused person
fraudulently converted the money to his
own use rather than executing the project
for which the sum was obtained.
She said the alleged offence was
committed between August 2013 and April
2014, at Zenith Bank’s headquarters in
Victoria Island, Lagos.
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