Man from West Kensington Among Three In Court over Grenfell Tower Fraud


Gorleston Street resident Abolaji Onafuye accused of £32,500 benefit fraud

A man from West Kensington has appeared in court charged with fraud offences linked to Grenfell Tower.

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

Abolaji Onafuye, 54 of Gorleston Street, off North End Eoad Abdelkarim Rekaya, 28 and Koffi Kouakou, 54 appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Friday.


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

Rekaya, of Lots Rod on the borders of Fulham and Chelsea, faces one count of fraud by false representation amounting to approximately £60,000. He was also remanded in custody.

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

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 6 July.

Five other people - four men and one woman - who were arrested on Thursday, 7 June have been released under investigation.

Police say their enquiries continue.

June 13, 2018