Three in court accused of £110,000 Grenfell fire fraud

THREE men have appeared in court charged with falsely claiming more than £110,000 in benefits connected to the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Abdelkarim Rekaya, 28, Koffi Kouakou, 54, and Abolaji Onafuye, 54, all appeared at Westminster magistrates court yesterday.

Rekaya, of Chelsea, west London, faces one count of fraud by false representation amounting to approximately £60,000. He was remanded in custody.

Onafuye, of Hammersmith, west London, is charged with two counts of fraud amounting to £32,500 and was remanded in custody.

Kouakou, also from Chelsea, is charged with falsely claiming £24,572 and was released on conditional bail.

All three will appear before Isleworth Crown Court on July 6 where they are expected to enter pleas.

A fourth man Yonatan Eyob, of no fixed address, also appeared in court charged with intent to supply class A drugs, possession of cocaine, possession of criminal property and failing to supply a PIN code of a mobile phone.

He was remanded in custody and will face a plea hearing at Isleworth on July 6.

Meanwhile, a charity single has been released to mark the “immense loss and the legacy of love” following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Esme Page, whose charity Cornwall Hugs Grenfell came up with the idea, said the Grenfell From Today song was a “celebration of the community spirit that blossomed in the wake of the fire”.

Released by Universal Music Operations, all proceeds will go to the Grenfell Foundation and Cornwall Hugs Grenfell.

The song is sung by the girl and boy choristers of Truro Cathedral Choir, composed by Philip Stopford and set to lyrics by Andrew Longfield.