Koh-Lanta: a user suspected of having embezzled donations in tribute to the deceased candidate Bertrand-Kamal

His death had caused great emotion in the media world. On the death of Bertrand-Kamal, candidate for the “Koh-Lanta: the four lands” edition, Denis Borgniart announced on TF1 the creation of a fund in tribute to the deceased candidate, in order to support research on cancer of the pancreas. Problem: almost a year later, an Internet user is suspected of having embezzled donations, reveal our colleagues from Le Parisien.

He embezzles funds via the creation of another site

The Arc foundation, for research on cancer, bought several domain names with the aim of creating a website in order to collect donations from viewers. On December 4 2020, the site “PourBertrandKamal.fr” was launched during the Koh-Lanta final, shortly after 22 time. A few minutes later, a third party buys for ten euros another domain name, “PourBertrandKamal”, for malicious purposes.

After a few days, the Arc association is alerted by its service provider responsible for ensuring the security of financial transactions to its sites. A “malicious maneuver” would be in progress from the unsecured site “PourBertrandKamel”, which launched an appeal for donations. The creator of the site was thus able to divert the personal data of the donors, as well as the money they sent.

To read also: Death of Bertrand-Kamal, Koh-Lanta candidate: Denis Brogniart says he is devastated, the reactions

Public confusion

“We immediately approached this individual so that he withdraws this domain name or transfers it to our Foundation because this site has sown confusion in the minds of the public” explained the Arc association to our colleagues from the Parisian. Behind the malicious site hides a former journalist who claims to have bought the domain “PourBertrandKamal” in order to prevent a crook from embezzling the funds: this is precisely what the man is suspected of.

For the time being, no investigation has been carried out and the damage remains undetermined. The suspect will be at the heart of a trial scheduled for 23 next November at the Paris judicial court. While waiting for the hearing, the alleged crook has changed his mind, since the site he created now redirects Internet users to his Twitter account, according to our colleagues at Le Parisien.