Alps al-Hilli murders: Man remanded over fraud charge

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

A man accused of trying to access the bank accounts of the family of an engineer murdered in the French Alps has been remanded in custody.

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, 33, appeared before Guildford magistrates on Wednesday charged with eight counts of fraud.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Redhill Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Surrey Police have stressed that the fraud charges were not linked to the ongoing investigation into the murder of the Iraqi-born engineer.

Mr al-Hilli's dentist wife Iqbal, 47, her mother, Suhaila Al-Allaf, 74, and a passing cyclist Sylvain Mollier were killed in the gun attack in the French Alps.

The engineer's daughters Zainab, seven, and Zeena, four, survived.

The four murders are being investigated by about 100 police officers in the UK and France.