French Shopkeeper Who Made Nearly £344,000 From Migrants Trying to Reach Britain Gets an Unexpected Sentence in Court

A shopkeeper accused of making hundreds of thousands of euros through a money scheme linked to migrants trying to cross the English Channel to Britain has avoided spending his full sentence behind bars.

The man, who ran a tobacco shop in Dunkirk in northern France, was described as an important figure in an organised network connected to small boat crossings to the UK.

According to prosecutors, he made around €400,000, which is roughly £344,000, through the operation.

Hundreds of migrants reportedly visited his shop to use payment cards that allowed them to buy certain items. Instead of simply using the cards for purchases, the shopkeeper allegedly gave migrants cash in exchange for the money available on their cards.

He kept around five per cent of the money for himself before handing the remaining cash back.

Prosecutors said the system was important because some of the cash was then used to support smuggling networks involved in sending migrants across the English Channel to Britain.

The money could be used by migrants or people involved in the crossings to help arrange journeys towards the UK.

The shopkeeper appeared before a French court on Wednesday, where he was sentenced for fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors also made clear that they believed his activities had helped facilitate illegal migration.

He received a two-year prison sentence, but 15 months of that sentence was suspended. The remaining nine months will be served under licence rather than in prison. He was also ordered to pay a €50,000 fine, which is around £43,000.

The case comes as Britain and France increase their efforts to tackle criminal gangs organising small boat crossings from the French coast.

More officers are being deployed as authorities try to stop larger boats, sometimes described as “mega dinghies”, from being launched into the English Channel.

Although the number of boats crossing during the summer has fallen compared with previous years, authorities are concerned that smugglers are changing their methods. Reports suggest gangs are putting more people onto fewer and larger boats.

A specialist French intelligence and judicial team responsible for investigating and prosecuting people-smuggling networks has also been expanded from 18 officers to 30.

Andy Burnham said the fall in crossings showed what Britain and France could achieve by working together, but warned that the two countries could not become complacent.

He said criminal gangs are constantly changing the way they operate, meaning authorities in Britain and France must respond quickly and try to remain ahead of the smugglers.

Burnham also described small boat crossings as a wider European problem that cannot be solved by one country alone. He said Britain would continue working with France and other international partners to strengthen border controls and prevent criminal gangs from exploiting vulnerable migrants.

Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has spoken about closer cooperation with France’s Rassemblement National over Channel crossings.

Farage and Rassemblement National president Jordan Bardella signed a memorandum of understanding setting out how their parties could work together on the issue if they win their respective national elections and enter government.

Speaking at the party conference in Birmingham, Farage described the agreement as the beginning of a new relationship between the two parties and countries. He claimed their proposed approach would bring an end to small boat crossings.

Bardella also welcomed the agreement, describing it as the beginning of cooperation between the two sides.