The imposters used elaborate masks to pretend they were the French foreign minister. Photo / File
The imposters used elaborate masks to pretend they were the French foreign minister. Photo / File
Seven suspected conmen have gone on trial in Paris accused of using a silicone mask to impersonate the French foreign minister and extort more than €50 million (NZ$85m) from a raft of wealthy politicians, businessmen and religious figures, including the Aga Khan.
The two main suspected fraudsters stand accused of organised fraud and usurping the identity of Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, in an outrageous scam targeting 150 individuals from the owner of Chateau Margaux to the President of Senegal.
The Franco-Israeli pair, Gilbert Chikli, 54, and Anthony Lasarevitsch, 35, are being tried as the alleged masterminds of the group, while five others face lesser complicity charges.
The hustle - which took place from 2015-2016 - required targets to believe they were being contacted by Mr Le Drian, then defence minister, who then requested financial help to pay ransoms for journalists being held hostage by Islamists in the Middle East.
The fake Le Drian assured payments would be untraceable, since France officially does not pay ransoms to hostage-takers, and asked for the funds to be placed in a bank in China.
Almost all those contacted smelled a rat but three took the bait, turning the case into one of the most successful and outlandish scams in recent times.
Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian had his identity stolen. Photo / Getty Images
Prosecutors said the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, made five transfers for a total €20 million in 2016 to Poland and China. Three of the payments were frozen, but €7.7 million vanished.
A few months later, Turkish business magnate Inan Kirac was allegedly convinced to wire more than US$47 million for what he thought was ransom money for two journalists held hostage in Syria.
Previous French reports it was said that Corinne Mentzelopoulos, owner of chateau Margaux, handed over €6m.
The targets were reeled in gradually, receiving an initial telephone call from someone claiming to be a member of Mr Le Drian's inner circle.
They would later get to talk to the "minister" in person, first on the phone then in a carefully staged Skype call in which the Le Drian lookalike sat in a perfect mock-up of his office, complete with flags and portrait of then-President François Hollande.
To avoid raising suspicion, the connection was poor and short and the impostor badly lit and at some distance from the camera.
One who did not fall for it was Senegalese leader Macky Sall. He saw through the hoax when the fake Le Drian addressed the president with the polite French vous. In fact the two men know each other well, and when talking together use the familiar tu.
Both present in the defendants' box, Chikli and Lasarevitsch, denied the charges as the hearing got underway.
The Aga Kahn handed over NZ$34m to the alleged scammers, according to prosecutors. Photo / Getty Images
Mr Le Drian last weekend failed to see the funny side of the scam, particular given that payments were made to free hostages.
"My first reaction was one of surprise when I found out that this story existed," he said. "I was then shocked to see how human feeling - as these interventions were made on the basis of the question of hostages - could be exploited for a financial scam."
In 2015, a French court convicted Chikli in absentia to seven years in prison for similar scams in 2005 and 2006, in which he posed as business chief executives.
On the run, he was arrested two years later with Lasarevitsch in Ukraine.
On their phones, police found pictures of a silicone mask of Prince Albert II of Monaco, suggesting he may have been next on their scam list.
Others targeted, albeit unsuccessfully, included Gabon's President Ali Bongo, French AIDS charity Sidaction, the chief executive of the Lafarge cement company and the archbishop of Paris.
In an interview with French television in 2010 over previous con jobs, Chikli said he was intrigued by the "game" of scamming. "You've either got the gift or you haven't, it's like famous actors. When it comes to me, you can say that I have a gift," he said.
His story inspired a 2015 film, Je Compte Sur Vous (I'm Counting on You).
