The Plateau district police station in central Dakar has dismantled a fraud network within an unnamed diplomatic mission in Senegal.
This followed a complaint about stolen cheques and fraudulent withdrawals amounting to several million CFA francs.
The case involving theft, criminal conspiracy, fraudulent withdrawals, and forgery and use of forged documents has been unraveled by the Plateau district police.
A complaint filed on January 23, 2026, by an embassy based in Senegal, reported the theft of several cheques.
Investigators established that five cheques were initially stolen, four of which were cashed for a total amount of 3,362,700 CFA francs. Checks carried out with the relevant banking institution revealed that the signatures and official stamps on the cheques had been falsified.
The investigation later uncovered the disappearance of a 50-page chequebook from the Chancellor’s office, which enabled an additional fraudulent withdrawal of 820,300 CFA francs.
Analysis of CCTV footage led investigators to identify suspicious behaviour by an embassy employee.
The individual was arrested and confronted with the evidence, after which he confessed to the crime.
He admitted to using his graphic design skills to forge the documents on his computer and to relying on accomplices to carry out the withdrawals. Each accomplice reportedly received 100,000 CFA francs per transaction, using their national identity cards.
Despite attempts to erase digital traces and claims that the chequebook had been destroyed by fire, a search of the suspect’s home led to the recovery of the chequebook, which had been hidden in his bedroom.
The main suspect, described as the ringleader of the network, along with one accomplice, has been placed in police custody. Investigations are still going on to identify other suspects.
This is not the first time the Plateau security services have uncovered fraud cases involving financial documents.
In the past, several similar operations have dismantled networks specialising in cheque theft, forgery and the use of forged documents, particularly within institutions and sensitive structures.
These repeated interventions underscore the heightened vigilance of law enforcers in the face of increasingly sophisticated financial crimes.
DM/ac/lb/as/APA