Belgium: an undocumented migrant wins the lottery but has to fight to recover his prize

For 5 euros spent, an Algerian without papers discovers that he has just won 250,000 euros by scratching a Belgian lottery ticket.

(Illustrative image) © Getty Images/Jozsef Hocza

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

An Algerian without papers has won 250,000 euros in a scratch card game in Belgium… but he cannot recover his winnings because he is not in a regular situation.

The Belgian national lottery asks him to prove his identity before paying out his winnings. 

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With our correspondent in Brussels

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A few weeks ago, a man scratched a gambling ticket in a store in Zeebrugge.

For 5 euros spent, the player discovers that luck has just offered him 250,000 euros. 

Problem: the man, Algerian, is undocumented and without a bank account.

How then to recover the sum from the national lottery in Brussels?

The man mandates three of his friends to go there, one of whom has a bank account.

But the plan does not work.

On the spot, the trio is taken into custody.

Indeed, in the meantime, the Bruges public prosecutor's office had opened an investigation into the gain of a large sum of money by a migrant.

Fearing murder or extortion, he had asked the national lottery to notify him in the event of a claim for the prize.

The day after the arrest of his friends, the player goes to the police, who have no doubt: in front of them, it is the winner, the man appears on the video surveillance of the store.

But the proof by the image is not enough, the player will only receive his winnings if he manages to provide identity papers… He is therefore in the process of contacting his family in Algeria to achieve this. 

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