Antonio Siracusa was allegedly part of a group who used fake documents to try to defraud Nedbank Jersey out of up to $20 billion.
The gang claimed that the money, belonging to a trust called the Five Star Trust, had recently been transferred to an account at the bank, to which they had legal access, an Assize jury trial has heard.
But when Mr Siracusa (75) and his co-accused – Tommaso Caruso (50) and 38-year-old Enrico Verga – turned up at the bank with two ‘heavies’, staff became suspicious and called the police. The men deny conspiracy to defraud.
Mr Siracusa claims that he thought the operation was a legitimate humanitarian enterprise, during which money would be used to find cures for cancer and the Ebola virus.
Earlier in the trial, which is now in its third week, jurors heard that papers in Mr Siracusa’s possession appeared to show that the Five Star Trust had links to Ferdinand Marcos, the former Philippines president who amassed a vast wealth by defrauding residents between the 1960s and 1980s.
The alleged link was contained in a document under which the name Ferdinand Marcos was stated in the Trusteeship Origin section.
Yesterday, Crown Advocate Stephen Baker accused Mr Siracusa of being well aware that he was involved in a scam. ‘You knew you were up to no good, didn’t you?’ said the advocate.
Mr Siracusa replied: ‘No, not at all. This was an agreement between two banks.’
Advocate Baker said: ‘You knew Ferdinand Marcos was a notorious crook, didn’t you?’
Advocate Baker said: ‘You knew that Marcos reputedly stole billions of dollars from the Philippines, didn’t you?’
Mr Siracusa replied: ‘I did not have the chance to verify if he stole billions. I do not follow current affairs. I have always been a full-time lawyer. I don’t have the time to read newspapers or watch TV. I work like a dog.’
Earlier in the day, Advocate Baker questioned Mr Siracusa over transcripts of exchanges between the defendant and another alleged fraudster, Lorenzo Canzi, who is not on trial.
In the exchanges, Mr Canzi claims that an insider at Nedbank was prepared to give information to the group, but would need ‘something for it’.
During cross-examination, Advocate Baker accused Mr Siracusa, who had paid thousands of euros to Mr Canzi to cover ‘travel expenses’, of being well aware that a bank worker was allegedly involved.
Mr Siracusa replied: ‘No. I just thought that it was a trick Canzi was playing on me to defraud me’.
