Man convicted of fraud scheme involving money transfers from Angola to Portugal
Bolhão Court in Porto has sentenced a man to four years' suspended prison for deceiving another person with promises to move funds between Angola and Portugal, taking 1.2 million euros.
Man convicted of fraud scheme involving money transfers from Angola to Portugal
A Porto court imposed a four-year prison sentence, with suspension of execution for five years, on an individual who deceived another man with promises to move money between Angola and Portugal. The victim handed him 1.2 million euros that he never returned.
The magistrate further determined that the defendant compensate the victim with 50,000 euros and return the appropriated amounts, both as reparation and as forfeiture of illicit gain.
According to the Porto Regional Prosecutor's Office, the scheme was based on winning the victim's trust. The convicted man claimed to be a successful businessman close to influential figures, including a well-known Angolan businesswoman and a Portuguese minister. Taking advantage of the other man's difficulty in transferring capital from Angola, he convinced him to hand over successive sums.
The pretexts varied: on some occasions he said he would move the money to Portugal; on others, he presented them as loans; on yet others, as payment of taxes necessary for the transfer. He claimed to have dual nationality and a Russian diplomatic pouch, which facilitated the operations.
After receiving the sums, the defendant deposited them in personal bank accounts and accounts of a company he administered, appropriating the funds.
Source: Correio da Manhã
Source: Correio da Manhã