Alps al-Hilli family murders: Man charged in fraud inquiry

Mr al-Hilli was originally from Iraq but held British citizenship

A man suspected of trying to access the bank accounts of the family of an engineer murdered in the French Alps has been charged with fraud.

Saad al-Hilli, 50, from Claygate in Surrey, was shot dead along with his wife, mother-in-law and a cyclist near Chevaline, Lake Annecy, on 5 September.

Abiodun David John allegedly tried to access accounts in the name of al-Hilli family members after the killings.

Mr John, 33, is due to appear at Guildford Magistrates' Court later.

He is accused of eight counts of fraud by false representation.

Surrey Police could not confirm whether the accounts belonged to Mr al-Hilli himself and stressed the fraud charges were not linked to the murder investigation.

A Surrey Police spokeswoman said: "Abiodun David John was arrested at an address in Salford, Greater Manchester in October.

"He returned on bail today (Tuesday) where he was charged with eight counts of fraud by false representation which are alleged to have taken place between July and September this year."

Mr al-Hilli's dentist wife Iqbal, 47, her mother, Suhaila Al-Allaf, 74, and passing cyclist Sylvain Mollier were killed in the gun attack. The Iraqi-born engineer's daughters Zainab, seven, and Zeena, four, survived.

About 100 police officers in the UK and France are investigating the four murders.