Reug Reug denies knowing about alleged counterfeit notes

Oumar Kane, known as Reug Reug, has been placed under judicial control after being questioned in a case involving alleged counterfeit banknotes. The 34-year-old Senegalese wrestler and MMA fighter denies knowingly taking part in the alleged scheme and says his earnings from competition leave him with no reason to seek illegal money.

Kane was questioned by investigators on 25 September, with lawyers Michel Ndong, Abdoulaye Tall and Souleymane Soumare present. He had been arrested at an apartment in Hann-Maristes after bringing a parcel to his maternal uncle, Ahmadou Bamba Ndiaye, also known as Usine. The case includes allegations of criminal association, attempted fraud and possession of material intended to counterfeit legal tender.

Kane told investigators that his uncle, who handled mystical matters linked to his wrestling bouts, had given him the sealed carton four days earlier. He said he did not know what it contained when he transported it from his home in a Mazda after being summoned from training at Thiaroye beach. The parcel was opened at the apartment, where he saw the black banknotes for the first time. He acknowledged knowing such notes were prohibited but said he stayed because his uncle asked him to.

He also denied knowing Diégane Faye, known as Saltigué Diégou, although Faye had sent him the apartment’s location after receiving his number from Ndiaye. Kane rejected his uncle’s version that he knew the parcel contained black notes and insisted he would never have accepted it had he been told its contents.