A Frenchman who posed as an Irish aristocrat has been sentenced to five years in prison by the Nice Criminal Court for his role in a multimillion-euro fraud that reportedly involved luxury yachts, offshore accounts and high-society circles stretching from Monaco to Panama.
According to Nice-Matin, Thierry Fialek-Birles, aged 36, was convicted on 26th September of fraud, forgery, use of forged documents and money laundering. He was also fined €300,000. The court heard that he had deceived French actor and director Dany Boon out of nearly €7 million through a series of fictitious investments and marine management schemes.
Monaco connections under investigation
Fialek-Birles, who presented himself as Lord Terry Birles of Ireland, is now also reportedly the subject of a separate investigation by Monaco’s justice authorities, who have issued an international warrant for suspected money laundering linked to funds that allegedly passed through the Principality. The Nice-Matin report states that the Monegasque inquiry extends to one of his former partners and that investigators believe part of the missing money may have been routed through local accounts.
A con built on Riviera respectability
According to The Guardian, Fialek-Birles cultivated an image of wealth and sophistication, telling acquaintances that he had studied at Oxford and that his girlfriend worked as an adviser to the Prince Albert II Foundation. He was known to frequent yachting circles between Monaco, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and the Côte d’Azur, and appeared, by all accounts, entirely at ease in those surroundings.
In 2021, he reportedly met Dany Boon in Monaco through former America’s Cup sailor Marc Pajot, and offered to oversee the maintenance of Boon’s newly purchased 21-metre yacht Umaren. The actor subsequently transferred €2.2 million to a Dublin-registered company, South Seas Merchants Mariners Ltd Partnership, for yacht management and insurance. Later, he was persuaded to invest a further €4.5 million in what was described as a tax-free financial product allegedly linked to the Central Bank of Ireland.
Both the investment and the company were found to be fictitious. When Boon asked to withdraw his money, he was reportedly told the business had been sold to an Italian family — which, investigators later confirmed, did not exist.
Arrest and trial in Nice
After disappearing for more than two years, Fialek-Birles was arrested in Panama in February 2024 following an Interpol red notice, according to The Guardian. He was extradited to France in the summer of that year.
During his trial, Nice-Matin reported that he appeared composed and articulate, telling the court that he spoke seven languages and wished to “make amends” by releasing €9 million allegedly frozen in offshore accounts. Prosecutors rejected this claim, arguing that much of the stolen money had been spent on luxury goods, property and artwork.
The prosecution sought a six-year term, describing Fialek-Birles as a repeat offender with a history of deception. The court sentenced him to five years and imposed a €300,000 fine, citing the “scale and sophistication” of the fraud.
Wider implications for Monaco and the Riviera
The Nice-Matin report adds that Monaco’s separate investigation remains ongoing and is focused on tracing any funds that may have moved through the Principality. It comes amid heightened scrutiny of financial transparency laws in Monaco.
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