Italian Man Arraigned for Allegedly Defrauding Zenith Bank of N717 Million

A Federal High Court in Lagos  on Tuesday ordered that a Nigerian-based Italian businessman be remanded in police custody for allegedly defrauding Zenith Bank Plc of N717 Million.

According to Leadership, the accused, Piero Allan Franchillo, “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.”

Prosecutor, Susan Ezema informed the court that Franchillo and his other accomplices who are currently at large, conspired to obtain N717 million from Zenith Bank, for the construction of a Mall in Effurun, Delta State. She alleged that instead of using the money to work on the project, Franchillo used the money for his own personal use.

However, Franchillo has pleaded not guilty to all the counts leveled against him. The court has ordered that he remain in police custody until February 7th, when the hearing and determination of his bail application will take place.

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