Are financial scams compatible with the values of radical Islam?
At 52 years old, Maamar M. seems in any case to have followed both paths without complexes.
Filed S for years for his Islamist activism, this man who presents himself as "a Muslim theologian" is now suspected of being the head of a very sophisticated network of auto loan scams.
False papers, usurped bank accounts, corrupted loans, shell companies and movement of dubious funds… With nine alleged accomplices, Maamar M. would have put in place a formidable ploy to squander more than 4.7 million euros to credit organizations!
And thus ensure an expensive lifestyle.
The ten men were indicted on November 5 by a Parisian examining magistrate for "organized fraud, aggravated money laundering and criminal association" following an investigation by police officers from the fraud squad. means of payment (BFMP) of the Parisian PJ.
Four were imprisoned.
Maamar M. was left free under judicial supervision against the advice of the prosecution which had requested his placement in pre-trial detention.
The profile of these men is far from that of ordinary crooks.
In addition to Maamar M., also indicted in a procedure for financing terrorism opened since 2010, two other suspects are considered to be committed to the theses of rigorous Islam.
One was even a close friend of Amedy Coulibaly, the terrorist of the Hyper Cacher.
193 cars hijacked using 73 false identities
Thanks to meticulous technical and physical investigations, the investigators of the BFMP identified this hybrid band which would have embezzled the money of at least seven banks of car dealers or reputable credit organizations: Volkswagen bank, Mercedes Ben financial, DIAC, Sofinco … The network's organizers recruited penniless little hands - called "mules" in police jargon - to open bank accounts under fictitious names.
False identity papers and false pay slips were provided to them.
With two guides, they would then buy cars from dealers in the Paris region by taking out a classic car loan or a so-called “leasing” contract, these famous rentals with option to purchase (LOA).
They could be high-end vehicles - such as BMW X4s - or more modest, but easy to sell - such as Nissan.
The loans were in fact never repaid.
To cover their tracks, the suspected crooks immediately sold the cars to fictitious companies they had created themselves, "letter boxes" presented as respectable garages.
These front companies then sold the vehicles to real garages, accomplices of the network, so that they could put them up for sale at the traditional price to individuals who were unaware of their fraudulent origin.
The loot was then shared within the band.
The police estimated that Maamar M. and his alleged accomplices hijacked at least 193 cars, using 73 false identities and about 50 "mules", between January 2018 and their arrest on November 3.
The final damage could reach up to 6 million euros.
With the assistance of the Paris Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI), the investigators arrested the ten suspects, aged 23 to 55, at their homes in Paris, in Val-d'Oise, Hauts -de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Yvelines.
An ultra-connected chef
During searches, they seized 95,000 euros in cash, five vehicles, luxury watches, a beacon jammer detector ... They also discovered a forger's workshop in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis) in which there were hundreds of false documents - permits, identity cards, registration cards, etc. - making equipment such as glue or UV lamps, 150 telephones used by false customers to call banks and open their accounts, as well as around fifty vehicle keys.
Investigators also noted that the network had transferred a large part of their staggering earnings via companies based in Bulgaria, Hong Kong ...
These occult financial activities contrast at least with those, digital, in which the alleged leader, Maamar M. Ultra-connected, the latter distills daily radical religious discourse in videos posted on YouTube and other social networks.
“His fight is for the sake of Allah and his Prophet.
Against the Islam of France and all theological manipulations ”, he presents himself in a biography.
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Already known to the courts for other financial scams, this money-loving man with a very personal interpretation of the Koran has been in the crosshairs of the intelligence services since the 1990s. He was notably the leader of a dissolved pro-Hamas association. The open investigation must now determine whether the funds collected were only used to maintain his lifestyle or if they had other darker vocations.