A Spanish woman hoping to double her money in a scam has ended up with nothing, even though the man who swindled her was found guilty.

The man scammed her out of €15,000 by promising to double her money, claiming to have a liquid which could duplicate banknotes by means of a process known as a 'black money scam'.

Abdoul Moumine Abdoulaye Maiga, 36, residing in Sliema and originally from Niger, had befriended Miriam Rodriguez Quintero in July 2015 and suggested that he could help her turn a fast buck.

However, the man she knew only as 'Ricardo' did not turn up with the money as promised and Ms Rodriguez Quintero filed a police report. Investigations led to the arrest of the fraudster, who posed on Facebook under the name of Richard Malere.

The court, presided over by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, found Maiga guilty and condemned him to an effective jail term of 30 months.

However, the prosecution’s request for the accused to reimburse the €15,000 to Rodriguez Quintero was rejected, with the court pointing out that by entrusting her money to Maiga, she was also party to the criminal activity.

Inspector Maurice Curmi prosecuted.

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