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Football

17th Nov 2021

Former Schalke player Hiannick Kamba jailed after faking his own death

Daniel Brown

Kamba was pronounced ‘dead’ in 2016

Former Schalke player Hiannick Kamba has been jailed for nearly four years after faking his own death in a car crash in Congo.

The 35-year-old, and also his wife who is only reported as ‘Christina von G’ due to privacy laws, have been sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison after being convicted of fraud after life insurance paid out £1million because of his death.

The car ‘accident’ – which was purported to have happened in January 2016 – occurred after Kamba had travelled back to his native Congo.

Three years later, Kamba was found to be alive in Ruhr, Germany – with Bild reporting that he was working as a chemical technician at an energy supplier.

On Wednesday (17 November), Bild reported that the prosecutor in the case believes the plan was hatched by the pair and that originally, they attempted to take out an insurance plan worth £3.36million.

The report adds that Kamba’s attorney said that he has never seen any money that was paid out.

In 2o18, a year before he was found to be alive, Kamba allegedly went to the German embassy in Kinshasa to report the ‘fake news’ about his death.

It is believed that he told the authorities he was separated from his friends during a trip in Congo – leaving him without any documents, money or a telephone.

“Kamba claims he was abandoned by friends overnight in Congo in January 2016 and left without documents, money and a cell phone,” public prosecutor Anette Milk told the German newspaper.

When Kamba was pronounced dead in 2016, his ex-wife claimed a six-figure amount on his life insurance.

Kamba’s former club, VfB Huls, issued an obituary for Kamba in 2016, stating: “He represented the ideas and values ​​of our club like few others. His demise will leave a big gap. Hiannick is undoubtedly a bitter sporting loss for us, but primarily we will miss it as a fellow human being.”

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