Paris shop owners are questioned over £22m lottery fraud

TWO Paris shopkeepers and one other person were being questioned last night after they allegedly scammed a European lottery and collected £22 million, judicial officials said.

Detectives believe the shopkeepers, who own a tobacco shop in Paris, realised they had sold the winning Euro Millions ticket on 11 May when a man came in to check whether he had won.

They allegedly lied and denied the win - and then kept the ticket themselves, said officials.

Investigators believe the couple passed the numbers on to a third party - someone who would be less suspicious to authorities - who claimed to be the winner.

Three days after receiving the prize, the alleged accomplice deposited 20 million into the shopkeepers' account.

Thierry Herzog, the lawyer for La Franaise des Jeux, the French lottery authority, said the game operator had two priorities: "finding the real winner and exposing the people who carried out this scam".

The Paris prosecutor's office opened a judicial inquiry on 19 June following a complaint by La Francaise de Jeux.

Investigators had tracked down the true winner, and Mr Herzog said everything would be done to ensure he took home the winnings.

He is believed to be a regular customer at the shop.

People in nine countries - France, Spain, Britain, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland - play the Euro Millions lottery, making it one of the world's biggest.

The draw, which began in February 2004, takes place each Friday evening, and tickets cost 1.50.

The largest single winner so far is Delores McNamara, from Ireland, who won 77 million in August 2005 after the jackpot was rolled over for nine weeks without a winner.