A Laval man charged with kidnapping the president of the popular Chez Cora chain of breakfast restaurants will remain detained for at least two more days for a a bail hearing scheduled for Friday.
Paul Zaidan, 49, made a brief appearance before a judge at the Laval courthouse on Thursday. He entered a not guilty plea to some of the charges he faces.
Zaidan, who was arrested on Tuesday as a suspect in last year’s kidnapping, was recently declared bankrupt and was facing the possibility of losing his home.
Zaidan, who lives in the Chomedey district of Laval, faces seven charges in connection with the March 8, 2017, kidnapping of Chez Cora president Nicholas Tsouflidis.
Zaidan was reportedly the former owner of a failed Chez Cora franchise in Nuns’ Island.
According to court records, Zaidan — also the owner of trucking company Le Phénicien Inc. — was declared bankrupt in June of this year.
A proposal he made to pay his debts was rejected, and a trustee based in St-Jérôme took steps to take control of his home, estimated to be worth more than $650,000.
Zaidan reportedly lost his Chez Cora franchise in 2014.
Tsouflidis was abducted from his home and held against his will for hours before he was left on the side of a road in Laval. A passerby notified the police.
The Sûreté du Québec believes at least two men were involved in the abduction.
On Aug. 30, the SQ obtained two warrants for Zaidan’s arrest accusing him of theft, uttering threats to use violence against the victim’s children if he should call the police, and “using threats, accusations or violence” to force the victim’s mother, Cora Tsouflidou, the founder of Chez Cora, to pay a sum of money for her son’s liberation.