How scammers used a silicone mask and Skype to impersonate a French minister and steal $90 million

By Tamer El-Ghobashy June 20 at 12:46 PM

French investigators are probing whether a conman who became known as the “Fake Chairman” for scamming banks out of millions of dollars by posing as a top-ranking executive gave himself a promotion — to government minister.

Gilbert Chikli, a 53-year-old French-Israeli citizen, is at the center of an investigation into a caper that may have netted some $90 million by convincing heads-of-state, clergy, business figures, large charities and other luminaries that they were working with France’s defense minister to free French citizens kidnapped by Islamists in the Middle East and Africa, according to the BBC.

The alleged ruse was as outlandish as it was elaborate: According to French prosecutors, Chikli or someone else in his crew would don a custom-made silicone mask of France’s then defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and sit behind an impressive desk in a room decorated to look like a ministerial office, complete with a large French flag and a portrait of the nation’s president, and conduct a video-chat with the target of the scam.

Le Drian, now France’s foreign minister, has conceded that the con was “impressive,” noting that the scammers did a good job impersonating him. But to investigators in France and Israel, the case has been an embarrassing breach of national security.

“This is not an ordinary case but one with great international sensitivities that has caused a diplomatic incident between our two countries. This case is being investigated around the clock in both Israel and France,” a member of Israel’s fraud police told a judge after the arrests of three Israeli citizens in March, according to the Times of Israel.

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The fake French minister in a silicone mask who stole millions

By Hugh Schofield
BBC News, Paris

20 June 2019

Identity theft is said to be the world's fastest-growing crime, but in sheer chutzpah there can be few cons to match the story of the fake French minister and his silicone mask.

For two years from late 2015, an individual or individuals impersonating France's defence minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, scammed an estimated €80m (£70m; $90m) from wealthy victims including the Aga Khan and the owner of Château Margaux wines.

The hustle required targets to believe they were being contacted by Mr Le Drian, who then requested financial help to pay ransoms for journalists being held hostage by Islamists in the Middle East.

Since France officially does not pay ransoms to hostage-takers, the fake Le Drian assured payments could not be traced and asked for the funds to be placed in a bank in China.

Many of those approached smelled a rat and rang off.

But, some didn't - enough for it to become one of the most outlandish and successful rackets of recent times.

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