Man used false travel documents in black money scam

A court has heard a Cameroonian man admit that he had come to Malta using another person’s travel documents with the specific intent to defraud a Maltese man out of €6,700 today pleaded guilty to fraud. 

39-year-old Alex Rabane Awal pleaded guilty to obtaining money through false pretences and to using the infamous “black money scam” to obtain a profit through fraudulent means.

Awal was arrested as he tried leaving Malta with a passport not belonging to him, carrying an envelope containing €5,500 in cash. 

Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit was told by police Inspector Maurice Curmi how the investigation had been initiated following a report by the Maltese victim, who had gone to the police after realising that he had been duped. 

Awal claimed that this was the first time he had tried to swindle somebody and begged for leniency. The magistrate was less than impressed by his appeals, however commenting that she would hear many like it every day.

The accused requested the court grant him a short time to have his wife transfer funds in order to repay the victim.

The magistrate announced that she would be delivering her judgment on Monday, however informing the accused that he would be remanded in custody in the interim due to his lacking a fixed address in Malta and the fact that the court had none of his identity documents. “I have a duty to protect other people too.”

Lawyer Joseph Ellis was legal aid.