The Keur Massar gendarmerie's research brigade took 54-year-old businessman Mr. Sarr into custody on Wednesday, January 21, for trafficking counterfeit banknotes and identity theft. The charges involve a total of 4,558,000 CFA francs, according to Seneweb sources.

A complaint from SONATEL triggered the investigation

On Monday, December 15, 2025, the General Inspection Department of SONATEL was notified following complaints from several Orange Money distributor partners who had been victims of fraud. According to the complainants, the scammer approached their points of sale to make deposits, handing them counterfeit 10,000 CFA franc and 5,000 CFA franc notes. The distributors stated that they only realized the deception afterward. When they tried to cancel the transactions, the counterfeit money had already been withdrawn.

It is in this context that SONATEL, represented by Arman François Faye, filed a complaint with the Keur Massar research brigade.

A well-established modus operandi

The investigation revealed that the suspect was making the rounds of Orange Money points to make deposits, handing counterfeit bills mixed with genuine ones to the managers. Immediately after these fraudulent deposits, he would go to a nearby withdrawal point to collect genuine bills before disappearing. This method allowed him to launder the counterfeit money and acquire movable and immovable property.

Analysis of Orange Money transactions confirmed fraudulent deposits systematically followed by withdrawals totaling 4,558,000 CFA francs over the past two months.

Analysis of call logs from the IMEIs of the phones involved made it possible to identify the numbers used during the transactions. Among these was the suspect's number, registered in the name of Mr. Sarr and located in Pikine Icotaf.

Thanks to the gendarmerie's investigative techniques, the suspect was apprehended on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, on his Beverly motorcycle, which he used to facilitate his escape after his fraudulent activities. A search of his home led to the seizure in his bedroom of eight fraudulently obtained identity documents, which he used to subscribe to and register on the Orange Money platform, SIM cards used for his mobile phone plans, four implicated cell phones, a counterfeit 5,000 CFA franc banknote, and 3,500,000 CFA francs in genuine banknotes.

Mr. Sarr admitted the facts and stated that the counterfeit banknotes he circulated came from an unknown source.

The investigation continues to identify any accomplices and trace the production and distribution network of counterfeit banknotes.