Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Aga Khan among victims of a French scam

The billionaire leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims Aga Khan was among the victims of a French scam which extorted €78 million (£66 million) from the ‘rich and the famous’ in the world.

Aga Khan reportedly made five transfers for a total £17 million in 2016 to Poland and China. The fraudster used rubber mask to impersonate French defence minister on Skype to plead for funds for secret government mission.


Three of the payments were frozen, but £6.5 million vanished. The trial of the case is currently underway in Paris.

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 gang contacted 150 corporate chief executives, heads of state, ambassadors and religious leaders using the identity of Jean-Yves Le Drian, the current French foreign minister.

Chikli and members made the targets believe that they were being contacted by 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.

Turkish business magnate Inan Kirac was allegedly convinced to wire more than £36 million and Corinne Mentzelopoulos, the owner of Chateau Margaux, handed over £5 m.

The targets received an initial telephone call from someone in Le Drian's inner circle. Then 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.

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. After two years he was arrested with Lasarevitsch in Ukraine.

Prosecutors said that another rubber mask was being prepared to mimic the features of Prince Albert II of Monaco. The team was also preparing masks for President Emmanuel Macron and former presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.

More For You

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK  mini heatwave

Sunny conditions will bring early summer warmth

Getty

UK to see mini heatwave as temperatures climb towards 24 °c

The UK is set for a period of warmer weather in the coming days, with temperatures expected to rise significantly across parts of the country. According to the Met Office, a spell of dry and sunny conditions will bring early summer warmth, although it will fall short of the threshold for an official heatwave.

Temperatures in south-eastern and central England could reach 23°c to 24°c by Tuesday, around 10C above the seasonal average for some areas. The Met Office described this as a “very warm spell” rather than a heatwave, though the contrast with recent cooler weather will be noticeable.

Keep ReadingShow less
indian-army-reuters

Indian security force personnel stand guard at the site of the attack on tourists in Baisaran near Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, April 24, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Indian and Pakistani troops exchange fire along Line of Control

INDIAN and Pakistani troops exchanged fire overnight along the Line of Control in Kashmir, officials from both sides said on Friday.

The exchange took place days after a deadly attack in the region and amid calls from the United Nations for both countries to show "maximum restraint".

Keep ReadingShow less
India declares state mourning for Pope Francis, Modi leads tributes

A sculpture by Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik in Puri, Odisha, on Monday (21)

India declares state mourning for Pope Francis, Modi leads tributes

INDIA began three days of state mourning on Tuesday (22) for the Pope, a rare honour for a foreign religious leader, as prime minister Narendra Modi joined other south Asian and world leaders in paying tributes following his death on Monday (21).

Pope Francis, the 88-year-old leader of 1.4 billion Catholics across the world, died of a stroke, causing a coma and “irreversible” heart failure, the Vatican said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Minority youth face racist content online once a week, report reveals

As many as 95 per cent of respondents reported encountering violent or abusive racist content online. (Photo: iStock)

Minority youth face racist content online once a week, report reveals

MOST young people from black and minority communities in Britain encounter racist content online, a new study revealed, with more than half reporting it damages their sense of safety.

The "Youth, Race and Social Media" report published on Thursday (24) highlighted a troubling picture of online racism and its effects on young people aged 16-24.

Keep ReadingShow less