Court orders Grenfell fraud suspect to live alongside blaze survivors

A MAN accused of posing as a Grenfell survivor to get free housing and cash was yesterday ordered to live in a building with victims of the fire.

Koffi Kouakou, 54, claimed after the blaze that he had been living with two of the 72 victims, Zainab Deen and her twoyear-old son Jeremiah.

Miss Deen, 32, pictured, and Jeremiah died in their 14th floor flat in last June’s tragedy. Kouakou allegedly told the authorities he was visiting the Ivory Coast when the fire broke out.

The hospital worker was accused of claiming £24,572 in accommodation and cash and entered a plea of not guilty during a brief hearing at Westminster magistrates’ court.

He was granted bail but told he would have to continue to live in the block of flats in Westminster where he had been housed with families from Grenfell.

Kouakou was one of nine people arrested in dawn raids by police investigating fraud allegations linked to the blaze.

Abolaji Onafuye and Abdelkarim Rekaya also appeared before magistrates charged with fraud.

Onafuye, 54, allegedly claimed £32,000 in housing costs and charitable donations after telling officials he was the brother of Miss Deen and had lived inside Grenfell in an 11th floor flat.

The Nigerian-born property consultant denied fraud and was remanded in custody. Rekaya, 28, was accused of claiming £60,000 in accommodation after also telling authorities he lived in Grenfell.

The Tunisian national was granted a 12month leave to stay in the country as part of a special dispensation for survivors. He denied fraud and deception and was remanded in custody.

A fourth man in the police investigation, Yonatan Eyob, 25, denied a class A drugs charge and possession of criminal property. He was remanded in custody. All four are due to appear at Isleworth Crown Court next month.

The other five suspects were released.