A former partner at City firm Mishcon de Reya last week appeared in court charged with using falsified bank documents to obtain a €22m (£18m) loan.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) alleges that between 1 July 2008 and 22 August 2008, Kevin James Christopher Steele, 50, and former property developer Michael Andrew Shephard, 49, conspired to induce EFG Bank to believe that Shephard had deposited £76m at another bank, Bank Julius Baer in Guernsey, as security for a €22m loan from EFG Bank.

The SFO alleges that, during the same period, Steele conspired with Shephard and others to use falsified documents, purporting to originate from Bank Julius Baer, to convince EFG Bank that Shephard had the £76m on deposit.

The SFO also alleges that between 10 October 2007 and 4 September 2008, Steele mishandled Shephard’s client account, and stole £1.8m from that account to settle an unrelated civil claim.

The men appeared at City of London Magistrates’ Court last week and were released on conditional bail. The next hearing will be on 12 August at Southwark Crown Court.

Nick Brett, partner at London firm Brett Wilson, who is representing Steele, said: ‘Mr Steele understands that it would be inappropriate for him to comment at this time save as to say that he is looking forward to putting forward his defence to the allegations made by the SFO.’

Stephen Gilchrist, partner at London firm Saunders Law Partnership, who is representing Shephard, said: ‘Mr Shephard [looks] forward to seeing the evidence relied upon to support these charges and to defending himself in court.’