Paris – 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 centre 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 …read more
Source: Independent Online
