The young migrant who won €250,000 with a €5 scratchcard in the port of Zeebrugge in March is looking for a way to collect his prize, and plans to use it to build a life in Belgium.
At the end of March, the man won €250,000 with a scratchcard that he bought in a Spar supermarket in Zeebrugge, but as the store could not pay out his winnings in cash, he disappeared without collecting his winnings.
Earlier this week, however, he turned up at the police station after all, accompanied by a lawyer. Now, the two of them are trying to find a way to get his money, as the man has no residence permit in Belgium, and therefore cannot open a bank account
"When I get the money, I am going to buy a place to live in Brussels. And maybe a car," he said in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws. "I have put away the idea of living in the United Kingdom. I am going to stay here and try to build a life."
He left his homeland, Algeria, some four months ago, and went to Spain by boat. From there, he went through Spain and France on foot, to get to Belgium. "All in one go. I have been here for a month and a half now," he added.
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In Belgium, he went back and forth between Brussels and Zeebrugge, a coastal town where many people leave to try to cross the Channel to the UK. The local pastor also organised a daily food distribution for the people who gathered there, which is why he had some money to buy the scratchcard, he explained.
"We got food for free, so I decided to take a chance and buy a scratchcard," he said. First, he won €5 with two other scratchcards, which he used to buy the winning ticket.
"I scratched twice. I did not realise it at first," he said. "But I started shaking and then told a friend. He went back to the store with me, with his bank card. But that did not work."
Indeed, collecting his prize is not that simple for the man, because without the right papers, he cannot open an account in Belgium. Last week, three friends of the man already went to the National Lottery with the winning ticket. But as they did not match the camera footage of the winner, the police arrested them. They were only released after the real winner explained the situation.
Still, the winning ticket is being kept in the safe of the Bruges police for the time being.
In the meantime, the National Lottery stressed that it is still determined to get the man his money, once he has sorted out all the administrative issues.
"We will look at what is the best option for him now," the man's lawyer, Alexander Verstraete, told Het Laatste Nieuws. "But we will do everything we can to open an account as soon as possible. In his own name or not."
Once he is able to access the money and found a place to live and get settled, he wants to open a shop, he said. "And of course, I will also look for a wife. Still, I am not going to find one with my money, but with my heart."
