Nigerian lottery "Nile case" to flow faster after 87 plead guilty
Massive swindle saw letters sent to 'winners' asking for an advance fee to ease payment of non-existent prizes
A huge trial over the so-called Nile case that was scheduled to run to May 2012 will be much swifter after 87 of a total of 168 defendants pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and falsification of documents. Only 16 of the accused will now stand trial.
The case centers on a massive swindle whereby letters were sent to supposed winners of a lottery in Spain asking for an advance fee to set in motion the payment of non-existent prizes. The vast majority of the defendants are of Nigerian origin and the 87 who pleaded guilty face 23 months and 15 days in prison and a fine of 1,800 euros.
The Provincial High Court of Málaga was only able to locate 113 of the suspects, of whom nine failed to appear and are being sought and one is already in prison. Prosecutors withdrew charges of illicit association, which carries a seven-and-a-half-year term, against all the defendants.
