Fraudsters Impersonating French Minister Jailed for Scamming Moroccan King, Other VIPs

The Paris Court of Appeal, through this conviction, confirmed the sentence of Anthony Lasarevitsch but reduced Gilbert Chikli’s sentence by one year, AFP reported. These two men are considered the masterminds of a vast organized fraud that took place between 2015 and 2017. The King of Morocco Mohammed VI, the President of Gabon, the companies Ubisoft and PSA, and the Archbishop of Paris are among the personalities they had contacted. They presented themselves as Jean-Yves Le Drian, then Minister of Defense.

The owner of Château Margaux, the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Ismaili community, and a very wealthy Turkish businessman were among those who lacked vigilance. They transferred 55 million euros to the group of scammers.

The Paris court had sentenced the two masterminds of the group to respective sentences of seven and eleven years in prison, as well as one and two million euros in fines on March 11. Four other men had also been sentenced to sentences ranging from 15 months suspended to five years in prison for varying degrees of complicity. Dissatisfied with the judgment, Anthony Lazarevitch and Gilbert Chikli had appealed.

On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal sentenced the two defendants to respective sentences of 7 and 10 years. It also confirmed the amount of damages of 44 million and 10.6 million euros for the main victims, adding 15,000 euros for legal costs. As for the fines imposed at first instance, they were canceled.