Prosecuted for fraud and criminal association, real estate developer A. Ciss appeared before the Thiès Court of flagrant offenses to answer accusations relating to the alleged sale of ten fictitious plots of land to emigrant A. Diaw in the commune of Keur Moussa.

In court, the defendant categorically denied the charges against him. He maintained that he had only sold one plot of land to the plaintiff in exchange for purebred sheep. Regarding the nine other disputed plots, A. Ciss claimed to have acted solely as an intermediary between the buyer and the sellers. According to his version of events, A. Diaw negotiated directly with the landowners, while he himself was limited to collecting the administrative documents after the agreements were finalized, without ever receiving any money from the transactions.

The victim, represented by Me Mbodj, acting as a civil party, requested the conviction of the defendant and the allocation of 30 million FCFA as damages for the harm suffered.

For his part, the public prosecutor requested that A. Ciss be acquitted of the charge of criminal conspiracy, arguing that this offense was not sufficiently proven. However, he asked the court to find him guilty of fraud and sentence him to two years' imprisonment.

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The defense, led by Mr. Ayi, argued for outright acquittal. The lawyer maintained that no material evidence demonstrated the fictitious nature of the land in question. According to him, no administrative document confirmed the non-existence of the disputed plots. He thus concluded that the accusation rested solely on statements, insufficient to justify a conviction.

The court acquitted him of the charges of criminal association and sentenced him to 6 months in prison for fraud, as well as to pay the sum of 5 million FCFA to the civil party as damages.

Subsequently, A. Ciss was again tried at the same hearing for another fraud case and sentenced to a second six-month prison term.