Senegalese man arrested in Canada after collecting €1.09m in Basque public aid

A Senegalese citizen has been arrested in Canada for an alleged fraud of CAD 180,000 in social benefits, a case that trinc the collection of €1.09 million in public benefits in Spain's Basque Country using dozens of false identities.

## The trail of the million-euro fraud

It seems that for some, trickery comes at a price, but that doesn't stop them from trying. A 45-year-old Senegalese citizen, **Omar Ndiaye**, has been arrested in Canada, in the province of Quebec, accused of defrauding public coffers. Canadian authorities estimate that the amount of this new alleged fraud is around **CAD 180,000**, equivalent to about **€155,000**, and that it took place between **2024 and 2026**.

What is striking about the case is that this is not the first time **Ndiaye** has been involved in a similar scandal. In Spain, he was already under investigation for having collected a whopping **€1.09 million** in public aid from the Basque Country. According to investigators, his method was the same: the use and abuse of dozens of false identities to access social benefits.

## A network of identities and passports

The investigation in the Basque Country uncovered a scheme of considerable scale. In March **2022**, when **Ndiaye** was first arrested in Bilbao, officers seized no fewer than **23 passports** and detected the existence of **62 false identities**. Over a period of approximately **14 years**, between **2008 and 2022**, he is estimated to have received that **€1.09 million** from Basque administrations. Of that figure, a significant portion, around **€780,000**, came from the Income Guarantee (RGI) managed by **Lanbide**, and another **€311,000** went to housing aid.

The system, according to the inquiries, included the opening of around thirty bank accounts. It appears that some of the documents used to create these false identities were obtained during trips to Senegal, adding another layer of complexity to the fraud.

## The pattern repeats in Canada

The modus operandi was not limited to Spain. The pattern would have been replicated on Canadian soil. At the time of his arrest in Quebec in early July, **Ndiaye** was carrying a Congolese passport, in another person's name but with his photograph. Authorities also found at his home another passport belonging to a different man, whose photograph had also been replaced with that of the accused. For these acts, the Quebec prosecutor's office charges him with fraud, document forgery and use of false documents.

The defense, however, presents a different version, suggesting that another person might have made the fraudulent applications using **Ndiaye**'s identity. Nevertheless, the judge of the Quebec Court, **Sonia Mastro Matteo**, decided to keep him in prison due to the high risk of flight, considering that he could face a sentence of between three and five years in prison if convicted. Curiously, Canada had already rejected three visa or asylum applications submitted by **Ndiaye** between **2023 and 2025**.