This is the result of a year and a half of investigation by the gendarmerie of Lille, in the north of France. Five people (four Beninese and one French) were arrested in France, suspected of having tricked dozens of customers by offering to buy fictitious agricultural equipment. They were presented to justice this week.
The alleged mastermind of this scam network is in Benin, according to the prosecution. The five people prosecuted were arrested in France, in the Paris region, in the center and in the south of the country.
Four Beninese and a Frenchwoman
Four Beninese and a Frenchwoman, whom justice suspects of having usurped, online, the identity of companies of agricultural equipment and public works which did not have a website. Customers, natural and legal persons, in France, Europe and the United States therefore purchased fictitious material.
The investigation began when a customer claimed a tractor from a company he thought he had purchased it from. A year and a half later, forty victims have been identified. The damage is estimated at 520,000 euros, but the prosecution says that the gains were probably much higher than this sum.
Under judicial control
The five people arrested were presented to justice in Dunkirk, in the north of France, this week. Prosecuted for organized fraud and money laundering, they are sent back to trial. In the meantime, they have been placed under judicial control, with a ban on leaving French territory and issuing checks.
►Also read : Benin: security cooperation at the center of exchanges between Emmanuel Macron and Patrice Talon (July 27, 2022)