A FINANCE boss is accused of squirrelling away almost three-quarters of a million pounds-worth of company funds into a private bank account.

Mandeep Mangat, 51, is said to have defrauded conglomerate The Lucy Group out of £701,675 between March and August 2019.

Prosecutors alleged he set up a Barclays account into which cash owed to the company from foreign exchange trades could be paid.

He is also accused of fraudulently providing certificates to support claims he was a member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Appearing before Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday, Mangat, of Turnpike Road, Cumnor, pleaded not guilty to three counts of fraud and a money laundering charge.

Judge Maria Lamb bailed him to return to court for the trial on January 24 next year.

The trial is expected to last between two and three weeks.

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