Two men appeared in court in London yesterday charged with defrauding Allied Irish Banks (AIB) and Bank of Scotland of up to £61 million.

Michalis Achilleas Kallakis (41) – formerly known as Stefanos Kollakis – and Alexander Williams (41), formerly known as Martin Lewis, were each charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud, 13 counts of forgery, five counts of

fraud by false representation, two counts of money laundering and one count of obtaining a money transfer by deception, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said. – (PA/Bloomberg)