Former banker Arnold Todd fraudulently withdrew nearly $350,000 from a Bank of Bermuda loan in the name of Kenneth Benjamin in 1989, Supreme Court was told yesterday.

The allegation came from prosecution counsel Michael Pert in the trial of ex-Bank of Bermuda executive Todd and three others.

Prosecution witness Kenneth Benjamin, 81, then a building contractor, said he had worked with Delmont Talbot's Delro Construction in the 1980s and had had business dealings with him before that.

He said in 1989 he considered moving from his home in Ord Road, Warwick, to Smith's and Mr. Talbot offered to buy his home for $575,000.

Mr. Benjamin said the price of the new house was $750,000 and he obtained a loan from the Bank of Bermuda -- but insisted he knew nothing of money being taken from a loan account there.

Todd's defence counsel John Perry QC suggested to Mr. Benjamin that Mr. Talbot appeared to be making decisions on Mr. Benjamin's behalf.

Mr. Benjamin replied: "I don't know....I couldn't trust Talbot.'' Todd, 56, of Pearman's Hill, West Warwick, is charged with 17 counts of theft, fraud and false accounting, allegedly committed between 1985 and 1990.

Also in the dock are importer Varnel Curtis, 49, of St. Anne's Drive, Southampton, hotel security chief Milton Woods, 61, of Old Road, Southampton, and businessman Cecil Durham, 56, Ramgoat Hill, Smith's.

All three men face other charges related to the allegations against Todd. The charges faced by the four, involving around $1.2 million in total, are all denied.

The court also heard evidence from Bank of Butterfield executive Michael Boorman, who said he was one of the bank's officials in charge of credit in 1990.

He said that Perinton Acres Ltd. was in default on a large loan at that time and the Bank of Butterfield was trying to recover interest and the principal.

Mr. Boorman said the bank held title to four lots of land in St. Anne's Drive, Southampton, as security.

Mr. Boorman said he sent letters asking for repayment to lawyer Charles Vaucrosson.

Mr. Boorman said that $174,000 was deposited in February 1990 and that the debt had been totally cleared by May.

Carpenter Arthur Smith told the court that he had worked for Delro in 1990 and had entered into a property deal with Mr. Talbot in 1990 for a plot of land in Acacia Lane, Sandys.

But Mr. Smith said a loan application to the Bank of Bermuda for $175,000 in February 1990 handled by Todd contained wrong information about his personal circumstances and the details had not been supplied by him. He said he had not been self-employed at the time, did not earn $6,000 a month and did not have $250,000 in assets -- all of which were stated on the form.

Mr. Smith said he later received a letter from the Bank of Bermuda asking for interest on the loan. He added he paid $2,000 interest out of his own pocket.

Mr. Smith told the court that as far as he was concerned, he had never become owner of the land at Acacia Lane and had received no money from the bank.

He added that $138,000 was later put into the loan account, but said he had had nothing to do with the repayment.

Mr. Smith agreed with Mr. Perry that he had gone to the bank to arrange the loan with Mr. Talbot and that the Delro chief had an interest in him getting the money.

Mr. Perry suggested that the form's details were filled out by another bank employee and that Mr. Smith was present when that was done -- which was denied by Mr. Smith.

And Mr. Perry said: "You have already told us Mr. Todd didn't fill this form out.'' And he added that the reality of the situation was that Mr. Smith had been "tricked'' by Mr. Talbot. But Mr. Smith said: "I wouldn't say that.'' Arnold Todd