Gilbert Chikli is a French-Israeli conman who made headlines back in 2017 after being caught scamming people out of millions of euros.
He is of Tunisian Jewish background and grew up in a working-class family in the Belleville neighborhood in Paris, France. He has spent many years living in different countries trying his luck to get people into his scam plans and make huge money.
While Chikli is best known for impersonating the French minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and scamming "Friends of France", he had already been convicted and arrested for trying to scam other high-profile businessmen, ministers, and even entire governments.
Gilbert tried to scam businesses by pretending to become their executive and asking for money in 2015, he had beginner's luck but was eventually caught. However, he lived in Israel and could not be extradited to France for his offense. He then tried to scam the Tunisian government by making a fake contract to purchase several Tiger Helicopters, but he was caught at the last moment.
Furthermore, he also tried to make money out of scamming African governments, several ministers from around the world, business leaders, religious leaders, and even INGOs. He did not find much success in his plans.
His plans of impersonating minister Le Drian worked magnificently. They were profitable for Gilbert but he was caught in Ukraine while trying to get his hands on the minister's silicone mask. He was brought back to France and is spending his time in jail.
